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LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


\ 


"  If  this  country  cannot  he  saved  witliont  giving  up  the  principle  of  Liberty,  I  was 

about  to  say  I  would  rather  be  assassinated  on  this  spot  than  surrender  it," 

Frmi  Mr.  Lincoln's  Speech  at  IndcpemleiKe  Hall,  Philadelphia,  Fehruary  21, 18G1. 

"J  believe  this  Government  cannot  endure  permanently  half  slave  and  half  free." 

Spn~ingfifM,  Illinois,  June,  1858. 

"  I  am  ezceedingly  anxious  that  this  Union,  the  Constitution,  and  the  liberties  of  the 
people  shall  be  perpetuated  in  accordance  with  the  original  idea  for  which  the  Revolu- 
tion was  made."  Trenton,  JVfiw;  Jersey,  February  21, 18C1. 

"  Having  thus  chosen  our  course,  without  guile  and  with  pure  purpose,  let  us  renew 
our  trust  in  God,  and  go  forward  without  fear  and  with  manly  hearts," 

Message,  July  5, 1861. 

'  In  giving  freedom  to  the  slaves,  we  assure  freedom  to  the  free  i  honorable  alike  in 
what  we  give  and  what  we  preserve."  Message,  December  1, 1862. 

"I  hope  peace  will  come  soon,  and  come  to  stay;  and  so  come  as  to  be  worth  the 
keeping  in  all  future  time."  Springfield  Letter,  August  26, 1863. 

"  The  world  will  little  note,  nor  long  remember,  what  we  say  here  j  but  it  can  never 
forget  what  the  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  did  here," 

Speech  at  Gettysburg,  November  19, 1863. 

"  I  shall  not  attempt  to  retract  or  modify  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  nor  shall  I 
return  to  slavery  any  person  who  is  free  by  the  terms  of  that  proclamation,  or  by  any 
of  the  Acts  of  Congress."  Amnesty  Proclamation,  December  8, 1863. 

"I  claim  not  to  have  controlled  events,  but  confess  plainly  that  events  have  con- 
trolled me.  Letter  to  A.G.  Hodges,  April  4, 1864. 

"  With  malice  towards  none,  with  charity  for  all,  with  firmness  in  the  right,  as  God 
gives  ns  to  see  the  right,  let  ns  strive  on  to  finish  the  work  we  are  in," 

Last  Inaugural,  March  4, 1865, 

(1) 


WITH  MALICE  TOWARDS  NOJTE.WITH  rH<\RITTliOR  ALL.WITH  FIRMNESS  IK  THEHIGHT.AS  GOD  GWES 
l;S  TOSEETHEWGHT.LET  U3  STHU'K  f)N-Tr)  FINISH  THE  WORK  W>;  ARE  IN  "  A.LINCOLH, 


LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN, 


SIXTEENTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CONTAINING 


HIS    EARLY    HISTORY    AND    POLITICAL     CAREER  ;    TOGETHER 

WITH  THE    SPEECHES,  MESSAGES,  PROCLAMATIONS    AND 

OTHER  OFFICIAL  DOCUMENTS  ILLUSTRATIVE  OP 

HIS     EVENTFUL     ADMINISTRATION. 


BY   FRANK   CROSBY, 

MEMBER      OF      THE      PHILADELPHIA      BAR, 


"  Let  all  the  ends  thou  aim'st  at  be  tht  conNTRY's, 
Tny  God's  and  truth's  ;  then  if  thou  fall'st 
Thou  fall'st  a  blessed  maktye." 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PUBLISHED     BY    JOHN     E.     POTTER, 

No.     C17    SANSOM    STREET. 

186  5. 


Eiitered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1865,  by 

JOHN    E.    POTTER. 

Id   the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  and  for  the  Eastern 

District  of  Pennsylvania. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
COLLINS,  PRINTER,  705  JATNE  STREET. 


DEDICATED 


TO     THE     GOOD    AND     TRUE 


OF     THE     NATION 


REDEEMED— REGENERATED— DISENTHKALLED. 


PREFACE. 


-•♦*- 


An  attempt  has  been  made  in  the  following  pages  to  portray 
Abraham  Lincohi,  mainly  in  his  relations  to  the  country  at  large 
during  his  eventful  administration. 

"With  this  view,  it  has  not  been  deemed  necessary  to  cumber  the 
work  with  the  minute  details  of  his  Ufe  prior  to  that  time.  This 
period  has,  therefore,  been  but  glanced  at,  with  a  care  to  present 
enough  to  make  a  connected  whole.  His  Congressional  career, 
and  his  campaign  with  Senator  Douglas  are  presented  in  outline, 
yet  so,  it  is  beUeved,  that  a  clear  idea  of  these  incidents  in  his  life 
can  be  obtained. 

After  the  time  of  his  election  as  President,  however,  a  different 
course  of  treatment  has  been  pursued.  Thenceforward,  to  the  close 
of  his  life,  especial  pains  have  been  taken  to  present  everything 
which  should  show  him  as  he  was — the  Statesman  persistent,  reso- 
lute, free  from  boasting  or  ostentation,  destitute  of  hate,  nevei 
e:^ltant,  guarded  in  his  prophecies,  threatening  none  at  home  or 
abroad,  indulging  in  no  Utopian  dreams  of  a  blissful  future,  moving 
quietly,  calmly,  conscientiously,  irresistibly  on  to  the  end  he  saw 
with  clearest  vision. 

Yet,  even  in  what  is  presented  as  a  complete  record  of  his  ad  • 
ministration,  too  much  must  not  be  expected.  It  is  impossible,  for 
example,  to  thoroughly  dissect  the  events  of  the  great  Rebellion  in 
a  work  like  the  present.  Nothing  of  the  kind  has  been  attempted. 
The  prominent  features  only  have  been  sketched  ;  and  that  solely 
for  the  purpose  of  bringing  into  the  distinct  foreground  him  whose 
life  is  under  consideration. 

7 


PREFACE, 


Yarious  Speeches,  Proclamations,  and  Letters,  not  vitally 
essential  to  the  unity  of  the  main  body  of  the  work,  yet  valuable 
as  affording  illustrations  of  the  man — have  been  collected  in  the 
Appendix. 

Imperfect  as  this  portraiture  must  necessarily  be,  there  is  one 
conciliatory  thought.  The  subject  needs  no  embellishment.  It 
furnishes  its  own  setting.  The  acts  of  the  man  speak  for  them- 
selves. Only  such  an  arrangement  is  needed  as  shall  show  the 
bearing  of  each  upon  the  other,  the  development  of  each,  the  pro- 
cesses of  growth. 

Those  words  of  the  lamented  dead  which  nestle  in  our  hearts  so 
tenderly — they  call  for  no  explanation.  Potent,  searching,  taking 
hold  of  our  consciences,  they  will  remain  with  us  while  reason  lasts. 

Nor  wiU  the  people's  interest  be  but  for  the  moment.  The  bap- 
tism of  blood  to  which  the  Nation  has  been  called,  cannot  be  for- 
gotten for  generations.  And  while  memories  of  him  abide,  there 
will  inevitably  be  associated  with  them  the  placid,  quiet  face,  not 
devoid  of  mirth — its  patient,  anxious,  yet  withal  hopeful  expres- 
sion— the  sure,  elastic  step — the  clearly  cut,  sharply  defined  speech 
of  him,  who,  under  Providence,  was  to  lead  us  through  the  trial 
and  anguish  of  those  bitter  days  to  the  rest  and  refreshing  of  a 
peace,  whose  dawn  only,  alas !  he  was  to  see. 

Though  this  work  may  not  rise  to  the  height  required,  it  is 
hoped  that  it  is  not  utterly  unworthy  of  the  subject.  Such  as  it  is 
— a  labor  of  love — it  is  offered  to  those  who  loved  and  labored  with 
the  patriot  and  hero,  with  the  earnest  desire  that  it  may  not  be 
regarded  an  unwarrantable  mtrusion  upon  ground  on  which  any 
might  hesitate  to  venture.  f.  o. 


Philadelphia,  June,  1865. 


CONTENTS. 


< » » » » 


CHAPTER  I. 

BOYHOOD  AND  EARLY  MANHOOD. 

Preliminary — Birth  of  Abraham  Lincoln — Kemoval  from  Kentucky — At  Work — Self  Edn 
cation — Personal  Characteristics — Another  Removal — Trip  to  New  Orleans — Becomes 
Clerk — Black  Hawk  War — Engages  in  Politics — Successive  Elections  to  the  Legislar 
ture — Anti-Slavery  Protest — Commences  Practice  as  a  Lawyer — Traits  of  Character — 
Marriage — Return  to  Politics — Election  toCongress 13 

CHAPTER  n. 

IN   CONGRESS  AND   ON   THE   STUMP. 

The  Mexican  War — Internal  Improvements — Slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia — Public 
Lands — Retires  to  Private  Life — Kansas-Nebraska  Bill — Withdraws  in  Favor  of  Senator 
Trumbull — Formation  of  Republican  Party — Nominated  for  U.  S.  Senator — Opening 
Speech  of  Mr.  Lincoln— Douglas  Campaign — The  Canvass — ^Tribute  to  the  Declaration 
of  Independence — Result  of  the  Contest 19 

CHAPTER  in. 

BEFORE   THE   NATION. 

Speeches  in  Ohio— Extract  from  the  Cincinnati  Speech — Visits  the  East — Celebrated 
Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute,  New  York — Interesting  Incident 34 

CHAPTER  IV. 

,  NOMINATED   AND   ELECTED   PRESIDENT. 

The  Republican  National  Convention — Democratic  Convention — Constitutional  Union  Con- 
vention— Ballotings  at  Chicago — The  Result^ — Enthusiastic  Reception — Visit  to  Spring- 
field— Address  and  Letter  of  Acceptance — The  Campaign — Result  of  the  Election — 
South  Carolina's  Movements — Buchanan's  Pusillanimity — Secession  of  States — Con- 
federate Constitution — Peace  Convention — Constitutional  Amendments — Terms  of  the 
Rebels 60 

CHAPTER  V. 

TO  WASHINGTON. 

The  Departure — ^Farewell  Remarks — Speech  at  Toledo — At  Indianapolis — At  Cincinna~ti — 
At  Columbus — At  Steubenville — At  Pittsburgh — At  Cleveland — At  Bufiiilo — At  Albany 
— At  Poughkeepsie — At  New  York — At  Trenton — At  Philadelphia — At  "  Independence 
Hall" — Flag  Raising — Speech  at  Harrisburg — Secret  Departure  for  Washington — Com- 
ments     67 

CHAPTER  VL 

THE   NEW   ADMINISTRATION. 

Speeches  at  Washington — The  Inaugural  Address — Its  Effect — The  Cabinet — Commte- 
sloners  from  Montgomery — Extracts  from  A.  H.  Stephens'  Speech — Virginia  Commis- 
sioners— Fall  of  Fort  Sumter 90 

(9) 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

PREPARING   FOR  WAR. 

Effects  of  Sumter's  Fall — President's  Call  for  Troops — Response  in  the  Loyal  States — 
In  the  Border  States — Baltintore  Riots — Maryland's  Position — President's  Letter  to 
Maryland  Authorities — BlocSstJe  Proclamation — Additional  Proclamation — Comments 
Abroad — Second  Call  for  Troops — Special  Order  for  Florida — Military  Movements 108 

CHAPTER  vrn. 

THE  FIRST   SESSION  OP   CONGRESS. 

Opening  of  Congress — President's  First  Message — Its  Nature— Action  of  Congress — Resolu- 
tion Declaiing  the  Object  of  the  War — Bull  Run — Its  Effect 117 

CHAPTER  IX. 

CLOSE  OP  1861. 

Election  of  the  Rebels — Bavis'  Boast — McClellan  appointed  Commander  of  Potomac  Army 
— Proclamation  of  a  National  Fast — Intercourse  with  Rebels  Forbidden — Fugitive  Slaves 
— Gen.  Butler's  Views — Gen.  McClellan's  Letter  from  Secretary  Cameron — Act  of  August 
6th,  1861 — Gen.  Fremont's  Order — Letter  of  the  President  Modifying  the  Same — Instruc- 
tions to  Gen.  Sherman — Ball's  Bluff — Gen.  Scott's  Retirement — Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac   137 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  CONGRESS  OF  1861-62. 

The  Military  Situation — Seizure  of  Mason  and  Slidell — Opposition  to  the  Administration — 
President's  Message — Financial  Legislation — Committee  on  the  Conduct  of  the  War — 
Confiscation  Bill 148 

CHAPTER  XI. 

THE   SLAVERY   QUESTION. 

Situation  of  the  President — His  Policy — Gradual  Emancipation — Message — Abolition  of 
Slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia — Repudiation  of  Gen.  Hunter's  Emancipation  Order 
— Conference  with  Congressmen  from  the  Border  Slave  States — Address  to  the  Same — 
Military  Order — Proclamation  under  the  Conscription  Act 171 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   PENINSULAR   CAMPAIGN. 

President's  War  Order — Reason  for  the  Same — Results  in  West  and  Southwest — Army 
of  the  Potomac — Presidential  Orders — Letter  to  McClellan — Order  for  Army  Corps— 
The  Issue  of  the  Campaign — Unfortunate  Circumstances — President's  Speech  at  Union 
Meeting — Comments — Operations  in  Virginia  and  Maryland — In  the  West  and  South- 
west   ISl 

CHAPTER  Xin. 

FREEDOM  TO  MILLIONS. 

Tribune  Editorial — Letter  to  Mr.  Greeley — Announcement  of  the  Emancipation  Proclamar 
tion — Suspension  of  the  Habeas  Corpus  in  certain  Cases — Order  for  Observance  of  the 
Sabbath — The  Emancipation  Proclamation 190 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

LAST  SESSION  OF   THE   THIRTt-SEVENTH   CONGRESS. 

Situation  of  the  Country — Opposition  to  the  Administration — President's  Message 193 


CONTENTS 


11 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE   TIDE   TURNED. 

Military  Successes — Favorable  Elections — Emancipation  Policy — Letter  to  Manchester 
(Eng.)  Workingmen — Proclamation  for  a  National  Fast — Letter  to  Erastus  Corning— 
Letter  to  a  Committee  on  BecalUng  Yallandigham 220 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

LEITEES   AND  SPEECHES. 

Speech  at  Washington — Letter  to  Gen.  Grant — Thanksgiving  Proclamation — Letter  Con- 
cerning the  Emancipation  Proclamation — Proclamation  for  Annual  Thanksgiving — Dedi- 
catory Speech  at  Gettysburg 242 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  THIRTT-EIQHTH   CONOKESS. 

Organization  of  the  House— Different  Opinions  as  to  Reconstruction — Provisions  for  Par- 
don of  Rebels — President's  Proclamation  of  Pardon — Annual  Message — Explanatory 
Proclamation 263 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

PROGRESS. 

President's  Speech  at  Washington — Speech  to  a  New  York  Committee— Speet a  in  Bal 
tlmore — Letter  to  a  Kentuckian — Employment  of  Colored  Troops — Davis'  Threat — 
General  Order — President's  Order  on  the  Subject 275 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

RENOMINATED. 

Lieut.  Gen.  Grant — His  Military  Record — Continued  Movements — Correspondence  vrith  the 
President — Across  the  Rapidan — Richmond  Invested — President's  Letter  to  a  Grant 
Meeting — Jleeting  of  Republican  National  Convention — The  Platform — The  Nomination 
— Mr.  Lincoln's  Reply  to  the  Committee  of  Notification — Remarks  to  Union  League 
Committee — Speech  at  a  Serenade^Speech  to  Ohio  Troops 285 

CHAPTER  XX. 

EECONSTRUCTION. 

President's  Speech  at  Philadelphia — Philadelphia  Fair — Correspondence  with  Committe'i 
of  National  Convention — Proclamation  of  Martial  Law  in  Kentucky — Question  of  Re- 
construction— ^President's  Proclamation  on  the  Subject — Congressional  Plan iW8 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

PRESIDENTIAL   CAMPAIGN   OP   1864. 

Proclamation  for  a  Fast — Speech  to  Soldiers — Another  Speech — "To  Whom  it  may  Con- 
cern"— Chicago  Convention — Opposition  Embarrassed — Resolution  No.  2 — McClellan's 
Acceptance— Capture  of  the  Mobile  Forts  and  Atlanta — Proclamation  for  Thanksgiving 
—Remarks  on  Employment  of  Negro  Soldiers — Address  to  Loyal  Marylanders 314 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

RE-ELECTED 

Presidential  Campaign  of  1864 — Fremont's  Withdrawal — Wade  and  Davis — Peace  and  'War 
Democrats — Rebel  Sympathizers — October  Election — Result  of  Presidential  Election- 
Speech  to  Pennsylvanians — Speech  at  a  Serenade — Letter  to  a  Soldier's  Mother — Open- 
ing of  Congress — Last  Annual  Message 323 


12  CO  N  TENTS 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

TIGHTENING   THE   LINES. 

Speech  at  a  Serenade — Reply  to  a  Presentation  Address — Peace  Rumors — Rebel  Commis- 
sioners— Instructions  to  Secretary  Seward — Tlie  Conference  in  Hampton  Roads — 
Result — Extra  Session  of  the  Senate — Military  Situation — Sherman — Charleston — Col- 
umbia— Wilmington — Fort  Fisher — Sheridan — Grant — Rebel  Congress — Second  Inaug- 
uration— Inaugural — English  Comment — Proclamation  to  Deserters 350 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

IN   RICHMOND. 

President  Visits  City  Point — Lee'a  Failure — Grant's  Movement — Abraham  Lincoln  in 
Richmond — Lee's  Surrender — President's  Impromptu  Speech — Speech  on  Reconstruc- 
tion— Proclamation  Closing  Certain  Ports — Proclamation  Relative  to  Maritime  Rights- 
Supplementary  Proclamation — Orders  from  the  War  Department — The  Traitor  Presi- 
dent   362 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  LAST  ACT. 

Interview  with  Mr.  Colfax — Cabinet  Meeting — Incident — Evening  Conversation — Possi- 
bility of  Assassination — Leaves  for  the  Theatre — In  the  Theatre — Precautions  for  the 
Murder — The  Pistol  Shot — Escape  of  the  Assassin — Death  of  the  President — Pledges 
Redeemed — Situation  of  the  Country — Effect  of  the  Murder — Obsequies  at  Washington 
—Borne  Home — Grief  of  the  People — At  Rest 37i 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE   MAN. 

Reasons  for  His  Re-election — What  was  Accomplished — Leaning  on  the  People — State 
Papers — His  Tenacity  of  Purpose — Washington  and  Lincoln — As  a  Man — Favorite  Poem 
— Autobiography — His  Modesty — A  Christian — Conclusion 382 


APPENDIX. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  Speeches  in  Congress  and  Elsewhere,  Proclamations,  Letters,  etc.,  not 
included  in  the  Body  of  the  Work. 

Speech  on  the  Mexican  War,  (In  Congress,  Jan.  12, 1848) 391 

Speech  on  Internal  Improvements,  (In  Congress,  June  20,  1848) 403 

Speech  on  the  Presidency  and  General  Politics,  (In  Congress,  July  27, 1848) 417 

Speech  in  Reply  to  Mr.  Douglas,  on  Kansas,  the  Dred  Scott  Decision,  and  the  Utah 

Question,  (At  Springfield,  June  26, 1857) 431 

Speech  in  Reply  to  Senator  Douglas,  (At  Chicago,  July  10, 1858) 442 

Opening  Passages  of  his  Speech  at  Freeport 459 

Letter  to  Gen.  McClellan 4&4 

Letter  to  Gen.  Schofield  Relative  to  the  Removal  of  Gen.  Curtis 466 

Three  Hundred  Thousand  Men  Called  For 466 

Rev.  Dr.  McPheeters — President's  Reply  to  an  Appeal  for  Interference 468 

An  Election  Ordered  in  the  State  of  Arkansas 470 

Letter  to  William  Fishback  on  the  Election  in  Arkansas 471 

(Ml  for  Five  Hundred  Thousand  Men 471 

Letter  to  Mrs.  Gurney 473 

The  Tennessee  Test  Oath 474 


LIFE  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


-*■♦  ♦♦■■»- 


CHAPTER  I. 

BOYHOOD   AND   EARLY   MANHOOD. 

Preliminary — Birth  of  Abraham  Lincoln — Removal  from  Kentucky — At  Work — Self 
Education — Personal  Characteristics — Another  Removal— Trip  to  New  Orleans — Be- 
comes Clerk — Black  Hawk  War — Engages  in  Politics — Successive  Elections  to'  the 
Legislature — Anti-Slavery  Protest — Commences  Practice  as  a  Lawyer — Traits  of  Charac- 
ter— Marriage — Return  to  Politics — Election  to  Congress. 

The  leading  incidents  in  the  early  life  of  the  men  who  have 
most  decidedly  influenced  the  destinies  of  our  republic,  pre- 
sent a  striking  similarity.  The  details,  indeed,  differ ;  but  the 
story,  in  outline,  is  the  same — "  the  short  and  simple  annals 
of  the  poor." 

Of  obscure  parentage — accustomed  to  toil  from  their  tender 
years — with  few  facilities  for  the  education  of  the  school — 
the  most  struggled  on,  independent,  self-reliant,  till  by  their 
own  right  hands  they  had  hewed  their  way  to  the  positions 
for  which  their  individual  talents  and  peculiarities  stamped 
them  as  best  fitted.  Children  of  nature,  rather  than  of  art, 
they  have  ever  in  their  later  years — amid  scenes  and  associa- 
tions entirely  dissimilar  to  those  with  which  in  youth  and 
early  manhood,  they  were  familiar — retained  somewhat  in- 
dicative of  their  origin  and  training.  In  speech  or  in  action 
— often  in  both — they  have  smacked  of  their  native  soil.  If 
they  have  lacked  the  grace  of  the  courtier,  ample  compensa- 
tion has  been  afforded  in  the  honesty  of  the  man.     If  their 

(13) 


14  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Where  Born.  Uarly  Life.  Educatian. 

address  was  at  times  abrupt,  it  was  at  least  frank  and  unmis- 
takable. Both  friend  and  foe  knew  exactly  where  to  find 
them.  Unskilled  in  the  doublings  of  the  mere  politician  or 
the  trimmer,  they  have  borne  themselves  straight  forward  to 
the  points  whither  their  judgment  and  conscience  directed. 
Such  men  may  have  been  deemed  fit  subjects  for  the  jests 
and  sneers  of  more  cultivated  Europeans,  but  they  are  none 
the  less  dear  to  us  as  Americans — will  none  the  less  take  their 
place  among  those  whose  names  the  good,  throughout  the 
world,  will  not  willingly  let  die. 

Of  this  class,  pre-eminently,  was  the  statesman  whose  life 
and  public  services  the  following  pages  are  to  exhibit. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  Sixteenth  President  of  the  United 
States,  son  of  Thomas  and  Nancy  Lincoln — the  former  a 
Kentuckian,  the  latter  a  Yirginian — was  born  February  12th, 
1809,  near  Hodgenville,  the  county-seat  of  what  is  now  known 
as  La  Rue  county,  Kentucky.  He  had  one  sister,  two  years 
his  senior,  who  died,  married,  in  early  womanhood  ;  and  his 
only  brother,  his  junior  by  two  years,  died  in  childhood. 

When  nine  years  of  age,  he  lost  his  mother,  the  family 
having,  two  years  previously,  removed  to  what  was  then  the 
territory  of  Indiana,  and  settled  in  the  southern  part,  near 
the  Ohio  river,  about  midway  between  Louisville  and  Evans- 
ville.  The  thirteen  years  which  the  lad  spent  here  inured 
him  to  all  the  exposures  and  hardships  of  frontier  life.  An 
active  assistant  in  farm  duties,  he  neglected  no  opportunity 
of  strengthening  his  mind,  reading  with  avidity  such  instruc- 
tive works  as  he  could  procure — on  winter  evenings,  often- 
times, by  the  light  of  the  blazing  fire-place.  As  satisfaction 
for  damage  accidentally  done  to  a  borrowed  copy  of  Weems' 
Life  of  Washington — the  only  one  known  to  be  in  the  neigh- 
borhood— he  pulled  fodder  for  two  days  for  the  owner. 

At  twenty  j^ears  of  age,  he  had  reached  the  height  of 
nearly  six  feet  and  four  inches,  with  a  comparatively  slender 
yet  uncommonly  strong,  muscular  frame — a  youthful  giant 


BOYHOOD   AND   EARLY   MAXHOOD.  15 

Removes  to  Illinois.  Visits  New  Orleans.  Black  Hawk  War. 

among  a  race  of  giants.    Morally,  he  was  proverbially  honest, 
conscientious,  and  upright. 

In  1830,  his  father  again  emigrated,  halting  for  a  year  on 
the  north  fork  of  the  Sangamon  river,  Illinois,  but  afterwards 
pushing  on  to  Coles  county,  some  seventy  miles  to  the  east- 
ward, on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Kaskaskia  and  Embarrass, 
where  his  adventurous  life  ended  in  1851,  he  being  in  his 
seventy-third  year.  The  first  year  in  Illinois  the  son  spent 
with  the  father ;  the  next  he  aided  in  constructing  a  flat-boat, 
on  which,  with  other  hands,  a  successful  trip  to  New  Orleans 
and  back  was  made.  This  city — then  the  El  Dorado  of  the 
Western  frontiersman — had  been  visited  by  the  young  man, 
in  the  same  capacity,  when  he  was  nineteen  years  of  age. 

Returning  from  this  expedition,  he  acted  for  a  year  as 
clerk  for  his  former  employer,  who  was  engaged  in  a  store 
and  flouring  mill  at  New  Salem,  twenty  miles  below  Spring- 
field. While  thus  occupied,  tidings  reached  him  of  an  Indian 
invasion  on  the  western  border  of  the  State — since  known  as 
the  Black  Hawk  war,  from  an  old  Sac  chief  of  that  name, 
who  was  the  prominent  mover  in  the  matter.  In  New  Salem 
and  vicinity,  a  company  of  volunteers  was  promptly  raised, 
of  which  young  Lincoln  was  elected  captain — his  first  pro- 
motion. The  company,  however,  having  disbanded,  he  again 
enlisted  as  a  private,  and  during  the  three  months'  service  of 
this,  his  first  short  military  campaign,  he  faithfully  discharged 
his  duty  to  his  country,  persevering  amid  peculiar  hardships 
and  against  the  influences  of  older  men  around  him. 

With  characteristic  humor  and  sarcasm,  while  commenting, 
in  a  Congressional  speech  during  the  canvass  of  1848,  upon 
the  efforts  of  General  Cass's  biographers  to  exalt  their  idol 
into  a  military  hero,  he  thus  alluded  to  this  episode  in  his 
life: 

"By  the  way,  Mr.  Speaker,  did  you  know  I  am  a  military 
hero  ?  Yes,  sir,  in  the  days  of  the  Black  Hawk  war,  I  fought, 
bled,  and  came  away.     Speaking  of  General  Cass's  career, 


16  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Speecli.  Engages  in  Politics.  Elected  to  the  LegisUiturc, 

remiads  me  of  my  own.  I  was  not  at  Stillman's  defeat,  but 
I  was  about  as  near  it  as  Cass  to  Hull's  surrender  ;  and  like 
him,  I  saw  the  place  very  soon  afterward.  It  is  quite  certain 
I  did  not  break  my  sword,  for  I  had  none  to  break ;  but  I 
bent  a  musket  pretty  badly  on  one  occasion.  If  Cass  broke 
his  sword,  the  idea  is,  he  broke  it  in  desperation  ;  I  bent  the 
musket  by  accident.  If  General  Cass  went  in  advance  of  me 
in  picking  whortleberries,  I  guess  I  surpassed  him  in  charges 
upon  the  wild  onions.  If  he  saw  any  live,  fighting  Indians, 
it  was  more  than  I  did,  but  I  had  a  good  many  bloody  strug- 
gles with  the  mosquitoes  ;  and  although  I  never  fainted  from 
loss  of  blood,  I  can  truly  say  I  was  often  very  hungry. 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  if  I  should  ever  conclude  to  doff  whatever 
our  Democratic  friends  may  suppose  there  is  of  black-cockade 
Federalism  about  me,  and,  thereupon,  they  should  take  me 
up  as  their  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  I  protest  they  shall 
not  make  fun  of  me  as  they  have  of  General  Cass,  by  attempt- 
ing to  write  me  into  a  military  hero." 

This  bit  of  adventure  over,  Mr.  Lincoln — who  had  deter- 
mined to  become  a  lawyer,  in  common  with  most  energetic, 
enterprising  young  men  of  that  period  and  section — embarked 
in  politics,  warmly  espousing  the  cause  of  Henry  Clay,  in  a 
State  at  that  time  decidedly  opposed  to  his  great  leader,  and 
received  a  gratifying  evidence  of  his  personal  popularity  where 
he  was  best  known,  in  securing  an  almost  unanimous  vote  in 
his  own  precinct  in  Sangamon  county  as  a  candidate  for  rep- 
resentative in  the  State  Legislature,  although  a  little  later  in 
the  same  canvass  General  Jackson,  the  Democratic  candidate 
for  the  Presidency,  led  his  competitor,  Clay,  one  hundred  and 
fifty-five  votes. 

While  pursuing  his  law  studies,  he  engaged  in  land  survey- 
ing as  a  means  of  support.  In  1834,  not  yet  having  been 
admitted  to  the  bar — a  backwoodsman  in  manner,  dress,  and 
expression — tall,  lank,  and  by  no  means  prepossessing — he 
was  first  elected  to  the  Legislature  of  his  adopted  State, 


BOYHOOD   AND   EARLY    MANHOOD.  17 

Acquaintance  with  Douglas.  His  views  of  Slavery  in  1836. 

being  the  youngest  member,  with  a  single  exception.  During 
this  session  he  rarely  took  the  floor  to  speak,  content  to  play 
the  part  of  an  observer  rather  than  of  an  actor.  It  was  at 
this  period  that  he  became  acquainted  with  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  then  a  recent  immigrant  from  Vermont,  in  connec- 
tion with  whom  he  was  destined  to  figure  so  prominently 
before  the  country. 

In  1836,  he  was  elected  for  a  second  term.  During  this 
session,  he  put  upon  record,  together  with  one  of  his  col- 
leagues, his  views  relative  to  slavery,  in  the  following  pro- 
test, bearing  date  March  3d,  1837  : — 

"  Resolutions  upon  the  subject  of  domestic  slavery  having 
passed  both  branches  of  the  General  Assembly,  at  its  present 
session,  the  undersigned  hereby  protest  against  the  passage 
of  the  same. 

"  They  believe  that  the  institution  of  slavery  is  founded  on 
both  injustice  and  bad  policy  ;  but  that  the  promulgation  of 
abolition  doctrines  tends  rather  to  increase  than  abate  its 
evils. 

"  They  believe  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  has 
no  power,  under  the  Constitution,  to  interfere  with  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery  in  the  different  States. 

"  They  believe  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  bas 
the  power,  under  the  Constitution,  to  abolish  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia  ;  but  that  the  power  ought  not  to  be 
exercised,  unless  at  the  request  of  the  people  of  said  district." 

In  1838  and  1840,  he  was  again  elected  and  received  the 
vote  of  his  party  for  the  speakership.  First  elected  at 
twenty-five,  he  had  been  continued  so  long  as  his  inclinatioii 
allowed,  and  until  by  his  kind  manners,  his  ability,  and  un- 
questioned integrity,  he  had  won  a  position,  when  but  a  little 
past  thirty,  as  the  virtual  leader  of  his  party  in  Illinois.  His 
reputation  as  a  close  and  logical  debater  had  been  established ; 
his  native  talent  as  an  orator  had  been  developed  ;  his  earnest 
zeal  for  his  party  had  brought  around  him  troops  of  friends ; 
2 


I 


18  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

A  lawyer.  Settles  at  Springfield.  Marriage, 

while  his  acknowledged  goodness  of  heart  had  knit  many  to 
him.  who,  upon  purely  political  grounds,  would  have  held 
themselves  aloof. 

While  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  he  had  devoted  him- 
self, as  best  he  could — considering  the  necessity  he  was  under 
of  eking  out  a  support  for  himself,  and  the  demands  made 
upon  his  time  by  his  political  associates — to  mastering  his 
chosen  profession,  and  in  1836  was  admitted  to  practice. 
Securing  at  once  a  good  amount  of  business,  he  began  to 
rise  as  a  most  effective  jury  advocate,  who  could  readily 
perceive,  and  promptly  avail  himself  of,  the  turning  points  of 
a  case.  A  certain  quaint  humor,  withal,  which  he  was  wont 
to  employ  in  illustration — combined  with  his  sterling,  prac- 
tical sense,  going  straight  to  the  core  of  things — stamped  him 
as  an  original.  Disdaining  the  tricks  of  the  mere  rhetorician, 
he  spoke  from  the  heart  to  the  heart,  and  was  universally 
regarded  by  those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  as  every 
inch  a  man,  in  the  best  and  broadest  sense  of  that  term.  His 
thoughts,  his  manner,  his  address  were  eminently  his  own. 
Affecting  none  of  the  cant  of  the  demagogue,  the  people 
trusted  him,  revered  him  as  one  of  the  best,  if  not  the  best, 
among  them.  Their  sympathies  were  his — their  weal  his 
desire,  their  interests  a  common  stock  with  his  own. 

Having  permanently  located  himself  at  Springfield,  the 
peat  of  Sangamon  county — which  ever  after  he  called  his 
home — he  devoted  himself  to  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
and  on  the  4th  of  November,  1842,  married  Mary  Todd, 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  Robert  S.  Todd,  of  Lexington,  Ken- 
tucky, a  lady  of  accomplished  manners  and  refined  social 
tastes. 

Although  he  had  determined  to  retire  from  the  political 
arena  and  taste  the  sweets  which  a  life  with  one's  own  fam- 
ily can  alone  secure,  his  earnest  wishes  were  at  length  over- 
ruled by  the  as  earnest  demands  of  that  party  with  the  success 
of  wiiich  he  firmly  believed  his  country's  best  interests  iden- 


IN"   CONGRESS   AND   ON   THE    STUMP.  19 

Elected  to  Cougress.  A  Whig  throughout.  Mexican  War. 

tified,  and  in  1844  he  tboroughly  canvassed  his  State  in 
behalf  of  Clay — afterward  passing  into  Indiana,  and  daily 
addressing  immense  gatherings  until  the  day  of  election. 
Over  the  defeat  of  the  great  Kentuckian  he  sorrowed  as  one 
almost  without  hope  ;  feeling  it,  indeed,  far  more  keenly  than 
his  generous  nature  would  have  done,  had  it  been  a  merely 
personal  discomfiture. 

Two  years  later,  in  1846,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  persuaded  to 
accept  the  Whig  nomination  for  Congress  in  the  Sangamon 
district,  and  was  elected  by  an  unprecedently  large  majority. 
Texas  had  meanwhile  been  annexed  ;  the  Mexican  war  was 
in  progress  ;  the  Tariff  of  1842  had  been  repealed. 

With  the  opening  of  the  Thirtieth  Congress — December 
6th.  1847 — Mr.  Lincoln  took  his  seat  in  the  lower  house  of 
Congress,  Stephen  A.  Douglas  also  appearing  for  the  first 
time  as  a  member  of  the  Senate. . 


<  • » •  > 


CHAPTER   XL 

IN   CONGRESS   AND   ON   THE   STUMP. 

The  Mexican  War — Internal  Improvements — Slavery  in  the  District  of  Columhia — Public 
Lands  —  Retires  to  Private  Life  —  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill — Withdraws  in  favor  of 
Senator  Trumbull — Formation  of  Republican  Party — Nominated  for  U.  S.  Senator — 
Opening  Speech  of  Mr.  Lincoln — Douglas  Campaign — The  Canvass — Tribute  to  the 
Declaration  of  Independence — Result  of  the  Contest. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  early  recognized  as  one  of  the  foremost 
of  the''  Western  men  upon  the  floor  of  the  House.  His 
Congressional  record  is  that  of  a  Whig  of  those  days. 
Believing  that  Mr.  Polk's  administration  had  mismanaged 
aifairs  with  Mexico  at  the  outset,  he,  in  common  with  others 
of  his  party,  was  unwilling,  while  voting  supplies  and  favor- 
ing suitable  rewards  for  our  gallant  soldiers,  to  be  forced 
into  an  unqualified  indorsement  of  the  war  with  that  country 
from  its  beginning  to  its  close. 


20  LIFE    OF   ABEAHAM    LINCOLX. 

Resolutions  of  Inquiry.  Slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Accordingly,  December  22d,  ISit,  he  inti'oduced  a  series  of 
resolutions  of  inquiry  concerning  the  origin  of  the  war,  call- 
ing for  definite  official  information,  which  were  laid  over  under 
the  rule,  and  never  acted  upon.  Upon  a  test  question  on 
abandoning  the  war,  without  any  material  result  accom- 
plished, he  voted  with  the  minority  in  favor  of  laying  that 
resolution  upon  the  table. 

In  all  questions  bearing  upon  the  matter  of  internal 
improvements,  he  took  an  active  interest.  He  took  manly 
ground  in  favor  of  the  unrestricted  right  of  petition,  and 
favored  a  liberal  policy  toward  the  people  in  disposing  of 
the  public  lands.  He  exerted  himself  during  the  canvass 
of  1848,  to  secure  the  election  of  General  Taylor,  delivering 
several  effective  campaign  speeches  in  New  England  and 
the  West. 

At  the  second  session  of  the  Thirtieth  Congress,  he  voted 
in  favor  of  laying  upon  the  table  a  resolution  instructing  the 
Committee  on  the  District  of  Columbia  to  report  a  bill  pro- 
hibiting the  slave-trade  in  the  District,  and  subsequently  read 
a  substitute  which  he  favored.  This  substitute  contained  the 
form  of  a  bill  enacting  that  no  person  not  already  within  the 
District,  should  be  held  in  slavery  therein,  and  providing  for 
the  gradual  emancipation  of  the  slaves  already  within  the 
District,  with  compensation  to  the  owners,  if  a  majority  of 
the  legal  voters  of  the  District  should  assent  to  the  act,  at 
an  election  to  be  holden  for  the  purpose.  It  made  an  excep- 
tion of  the  right  of  citizens  of  the  slave-holding  States 
coming  to  the  District  on  public  business,  to  "  be  attended 
into  and  out  of  said  District,  and  while  there,  by  the  neces- 
sary servants  of  themselves  and  their  families." 

In  regard  to  the  grant  of  public  lands  to  the  new  States, 
to  aid  in  the  construction  of  railways  and  canals,  he  favored 
the  interests  of  his  own  constituents,  under  such  restrictions 
as  the  proper  scope  of  these  grants  required. 

Having  declined  to  be  a  candidate  for  re-election,  he  retired 


IN   CONGRESS  AND   ON   THE   STUMP.  21 

Kansas-Nebraska  Bill.       Election  of  TJ.  S.  Senator.      Formation  of  the  Republican  Party. 

once  more  to  private  life,  resuming  the  professional  practice 
which  had  been  temporarily  interrupted  by  his  public  duties, 
and  taking  no  active  part  in  politics  through  the  period  of 
General  Taylor's  administration,  or  in  any  of  the  exciting 
scenes  of  1850. 

The  introduction  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  by  Stephen 
A.  Douglas,  in  1854,  aroused  him  from  his  repose,  and 
summoned  him  once  more  to  battle  for  the  right.  In  the 
canvass  of  that  year,  he  was  one  of  the  most  active  leaders 
of  the  anti-Nebraska  movement,  addressing  the  people  re- 
peatedly from  the  stump,  with  all  his  characteristic  earnest- 
ness and  energy,  and  powerfully  aided  in  effecting  the 
remarkable  political  changes  of  that  year  in  Illinois. 

The  Legislature  that  year  having  to  choose  a  United  States 
Senator,  and  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  State,  the 
election  of  one  opposed  to  the  Democratic  party  being  within 
the  reach  of  possibility,  Mr.  Lincoln,  although  the  first 
choice  of  the  great  body  of  the  opposition,  with  characteristic 
self-sacrificing  disposition,  appealed  to  his  old  Whig  friends 
to  go  over  in  a  solid  body  to  Mr.  Trumbull,  a  man  of  Demo- 
cratic antecedents,  who  could  command  the  full  vote  of  the 
anti-Nebraska  Democrats ;  and  the  latter  was  consequently 
elected.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  subsequently  offered  the  nomina- 
tion for  Governor  of  Illinois,  but  declined  the  honor  in  favor 
of  Col.  William  H.  Bissell,  who  was  elected  by  a  decisive 
majority. 

In  the  formation  of  the  Republican  party  as  such,  Mr 
Lincoln  bore  an  active  and  influential  part,  his  name  being 
presented,  but  ineffectually,  at  the  first  National  Convention 
of  that  party,  for  Vice-President ;  laboring  earnestly  during 
the  canvass  of  1856,  for  the  election  of  General  Fremont, 
whose  electoral  ticket  he  headed. 

After  Mr.   Douglas  had  taken  ground   against   Mr.    Bu 
chanan's  administration  relative  to  the  so-called  Lecompton 
Constitution  of  Kansas,  and  had  received  the  indorsement  of 


22  LIFE   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN". 

^ • 

Nominated  for  Senator.  Opening  Speech.  The  Slavery  Agitation. 

the  Democratic  party  of  Illinois — his  re-election  as  Senator 
depending  upon  the  result  of  the  State  election  in  1858 — 
the  Republican  Convention  of  that  year  with  shouts  of 
applause,  unanimously  resolved  that  Abraham  Lincoln  was  <, 
"the  first  and  only  choice  of  the  Republicans  of  Illinois  for 
the  United  States  Senate,  as  the  successor  of  Stephen  A. 
Douglas."  At  the  close  of  the  proceedings,  he  delivered  the 
following  speech,  which  struck  the  key-note  of  his  contest 
with  Senator  Douglas,  one  of  the  most  exciting  and  remark- 
able ever  witnessed  in  this  country  : 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  : — If  we  could  first  know 
where  we  are,  and  whither  we  are  tending,  we  could  then 
better  judge  what  to  do,  and  how  to  do  it.  We  are  now  far 
on  into  the  fifth  year,  since  a  policy  was  initiated,  with  the 
avowed  object,  and  confident  promise  of  putting  an  end  to 
slavery  agitation.  Under  the  operation  of  that  policy,  that 
agitation  had  not  only  not  ceased,  but  has  constantly  aug- 
mented. In  my  opinion,  it  will  not  cease,  until  a  crisis  shall 
have  been  reached,  and  passed.  'A  house  divided  against 
itself  can  not  stand.'  I  believe  this  Government  can  not 
endure,  permanently,  half  slave  and  half  free.  I  do  not  ex- 
pect the  Union  to  be  dissolved — I  do  not  expect  the  house  to 
fall — but  I  do  expect  it  will  cease  to  be  divided.  It  will  be- 
come all  one  thing,  or  all  the  other.  Either  the  opponents  of 
slavery  will  arrest  the  further  spread  of  it,  and  place  it  where 
the  public  mind  shall  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  course  of 
ultimate  extinction,  or  its  advocates  will  push  it  forward,  till 
it  shall  become  alike  lawful  in  all  the  States,  old  as  well  as 
new — North  as  well  as  South. 

"  Have  we  no  tendency  to  the  latter  condition  ?  Let  any 
one  who  doubts,  carefully  contemplate  that  now  almost  com- 
plete legal  combination — piece  of  machinery,  so  to  speak — 
compounded  of  the  Nebraska  doctrine,  and  the  Dred  Scott 
decision.  Let  him  consider  not  only  what  work  the  machinery 
is  adapted  to  do,  and  how  well  adapted,  but  also  let  him  study 


IN"   CONGRESS   AND   ON   THE   STUMP.  23 

Opening  Speech.  Squatter  Sovereignty.  Liberty  to  Amend. 

the  history  of  its  construction,  and  trace,  if  he  can,  or  rather 
fail,  if  he  can,  to  trace  the  evidences  of  design,  and  concert  of 
action,  among  its  chief  master-workers  from  the  beginning. 

"  But,  so  far,  Congress  only  had  acted  ;  and  an  indorsement 
by  the  people,  real  or  apparent,  was  indispensable,  to  save 
the  point  already  gained,  and  give  chance  for  more.  The  new 
year  of  1854  found  slavery  excluded  from  more  than  half  the 
States  by  State  Constitutions,  and  from  most  of  the  national 
territory  by  Congressional  prohibition.  Four  days  later  com- 
menced the  struggle,  which  ended  in  repealing  that  Congres- 
sional prohibition.  This  opened  all  the  national  territory  to 
slavery,  and  was  the  first  point  gained. 

"This  necessity  had  not  been  overlooked,  but  had  been 
provided  foi',  as  well  as  might  be,  in  the  notable  argument  of 
'squatter  sovereignty,''  otherwise  called  'sacred  right  of  self - 
government,'  which  latter  phrase,  though  expressive  of  the 
only  rightful  basis  of  any  government,  was  so  perverted  in 
this  attempted  use  of  it  as  to  amount  to  just  this  :  that  if  any 
one  man  choose  to  enslave  another,  no  third  man  shall  be 
allowed  to  object.  That  argument  was  incorporated  into  the 
Nebraska  Bill  itself,  in  the  language  which  follows  :  '  It  being 
the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  this  act  not  to  legislate  slavery 
into  any  Territory  or  State,  nor  exclude  it  therefrom  ;  but  to 
leave  the  people  thereof  perfectly  free  to  form  and  regulate 
their  domestic  institutions  in  their  own  way,  subject  only  to 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.' 

"  Then  opened  the  roar  of  loose  declamation  in  favor  of 
*  squatter  sovereignty,'  and  '  sacred  right  of  self-government.' 

"  '  But,'  said  opposition  members,  '  let  us  be  more  specific — 
let  us  amend  the  bill  so  as  to  expressly  declare  that  the 
people  of  the  territory  may  exclude  slavery.'  'Not  we,'  said 
the  friends  of  the  measure  ;  and  down  they  voted  the  amend- 
ment. 

"  While  the  Nebraska  Bill  was  passing  through  Congress, 
a  law  case,  involving  the  question  of  a  negro's  freedom,  by 


24  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

The  Dred  Scott  Case.  In  the  Supreme  Court.  Buchanan's  Election. 

reason  of  his  owner  having  voluntarily  taken  him  first  into  a 
free  State  and  then  a  territory  covered  by  the  Congressional 
prohibition,  and  held  him  as  a  slave — for  a  long  time  in  each — 
was  passing  through  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  for  the  District 
of  Missouri ;  and  both  the  Nebraska  Bill  and  ]slw  suit  were 
brought  to  a  decision  in  the  same  month  of  May,  1854.  The 
negro's  name  was  '  Dred  Scott,'  which  name  now  designates 
the  decision  finally  made  in  the  case. 

"Before  the  then  next  Presidential  election  case,  the  law 
came  to,  and  was  argued  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States ;  but  the  decision  of  it  was  deferred  until  after  the 
election.  Still,  before  the  election.  Senator  Trumbull,  on  the 
floor  of  the  Senate,  requests  the  leading  advocate  of  the 
Nebraska  Bill  to  state  his  opinion  whether  a  people  of  a  ter- 
ritory can  constitutionally  exclude  slavery  from  their  limits  ; 
and  the  latter  answers,  '  That  is  a  question  for  the  Supreme 
Court.' 

"  The  election  came.  Mr.  Buchanan  was  elected,  and  the 
indorsement,  such  as  it  was,  secured.  That  was  the  second 
point  gained.  The  indorsement,  however,  fell  short  of  a 
clear  popular  majority  by  nearly  four  hundred  thousand  votes, 
and  so,  perhaps,  was  hot  overwhelmingly  reliable  and  satis- 
factory. The  outgoing  President  in  his  last  annual  message, 
as  impressively  as  possible  echoed  back  upon  the  people  the 
weight  and  authority  of  the  indorsement. 

"  The  Supreme  Court  met  again  ;  did  not  announce  their 
decision,  but  ordered  a  re-argument.  The  Presidential  in- 
auguration came,  and  still  no  decision  of  the  court ;  but  the 
mcoming  President,  in  his  Inaugural  Address,  fervently  ex- 
horted the  people  to  abide  by  the  forthcoming  decision,  what- 
ever it  might  be.     Then,  in  a  few  days  came  the  decision. 

"  This  was  the  third  point  gained. 

"  The  reputed  author  of  the  Nebraska  Bill  finds  an  early 
occasion  to  make  a  speech  at  this  capitol  indorsing  the  Dred 
Scott  decision,  and  vehemently  denouncing  all  opposition  to 


IN   CONGRESS  AND   ON  THE   STUMP.  25 


Trouble  between  Douglas  and  Buchanan.  Points  of  the  Dred  Scott   Decision. 


it.  The  new  President,  too,  seizes  the  early  occasion  of  the 
Silliman  letter  to  indorse  and  strongly  construe  that  decision, 
and  to  express  his  astonishment  that  any  different  view  had 
ever  been  entertained.  At  length  a  squabble  springs  up 
between  the  President  and  the  author  of  the  Nebraska  Bill 
on  the  mere  question  of  fact,  whether  the  Lecompton  Consti- 
tution was  or  was  not,  in  any  just  sense,  made  by  the  people 
of  Kansas  ;  and,  in  that  squabble,  the  latter  declares  that  all 
he  wants  is  a  fair  vote  for  the  people,  and  that  he  cares  not 
whether  slavery  be  voted  down  or  voted  up.  I  do  not  un- 
derstand his  declaration  that  he  cares  not  whether  slavery  be 
voted  down  or  voted  up,  to  be  intended  by  him  other  than  as 
an  apt  definition  of  the  policy  he  would  impress  upon  the 
public  mind — the  principle  for  which  he  declares  he  has 
suffered  much,  and  is  ready  to  suffer  to  the  end. 

"And  well  may  he  cling  to  that  principle.  If  he  has  any 
parental  feeling,  well  may  he  cling  to  it.  That  principle  is 
the  only  shred  left  of  his  original  Nebraska  doctrine.  Under 
the  Dred  Scott  decision,  '  squatter  sovereignty'  squatted  out 
of  existence,  tumbled  down  like  temporary  scaffolding — like 
the  mould  at  the  foundry,  served  through  one  blast,  and  fell 
back  into  loose  sand — helped  to  carry  an  election,  and  then 
was  kicked  to  the  winds.  His  late  joint  struggle  with  the 
Republicans,  against  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  involves 
nothing  of  the  original  Nebraska  doctrine.  That  struggle 
was  made  on  a  point — the  right  of  a  people  to  make  their 
own  Constitution — upon  which  he  and  the  Republicans  have 
never  differed. 

"  The  several  points  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  in  connec- 
tion with  Senator  Douglas's  '  care  not'  policy,  constitute  the 
piece  of  machinery  in  its  present  state  of  advancement.  The 
working  points  of  that  machinery  are  : 

"  First,  That  no  negro  slave,  imported  as  such  from  Africa, 
and  no  descendant  of  such,  can  ever  be  a  citizen  of  any  State, 


26  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Points  of  the  Dred  Scott  Decision.  The  Nebraska  Doctrine. 

in  the  sense  of  that  term  as  used  in  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States. 

"  This  point  is  made  in  order  to  deprive  the  negro,  in 
every  possible  event,  of  the  benefit  of  this  provision  of  the 
United  States  Constitution,  which  declares  that — '  The  citizens 
of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  and  immu- 
nities of  citizens  in  the  several  States.' 

"  Secondly,  that  '  subject  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,'  neither  Congress  nor  a  Territorial  Legislature  can 
exclude  slavery  from  any  United  States  Territory. 

"  This  point  is  made  in  order  that  individual  men  may  fill 
up  the  Territories  with  slaves,  without  danger  of  losing  them 
as  property,  and  thus  to  enhance  the  chances  of  permanency 
to  the  institution  through  all  the  future. 

"  Thirdly,  that  whether  the  holding  a  negro  in  actual 
slavery  in  a  free  State  makes  him  free,  as  against  the  holder, 
the  United  States  courts  will  not  decide,  but  will  leave  it  to  be 
decided  by  the  courts  of  any  slave  State  the  negro  may  be 
forced  into  by  the  master. 

"  This  point  is  made,  not  to  be  pressed  immediately  ;  but, 
if  acquiesced  in  for  a  while,  and  apparently  indorsed  by  the 
people  at  an  election,  then,  to  sustain  the  logical  conclusion 
that  what  Dred  Scott's  master  might  lawfully  do  with  Dred 
Scott,  in  the  free  State  of  Illinois,  every  other  master  may 
lawfully  do  with  any  other  one,  or  one  thousand  slaves,  in 
Illinois,  or  in  any  other  free  State. 

"Auxiliary  to  all  this,  and  working  hand  in  hand  with  it, 
the  Nebraska  doctrine,  or  what  is  left  of  it,  is  to  educate  and 
mould  public  opinion,  at  least  Northern  public  opinion,  not  to 
care  whether  slavery  is  voted  down  or  voted  up. 

"  This  shows  exactly  where  we  now  are,  and  partially  also, 
whither  we  are  tending. 

"  It  will  throw  additional  light  on  the  latter,  to  go  back  and 
run  the  mind  over  the  string  of  historical  facts  already 
stated.      Several   things   will    now   appear  less    dark   and 


IN    CONGRESS   AND   ON   THE    STUMP.  27 

Objects  of  the  Movers.  Singular  Result. 

mysterious  than  they  did  when  thej  were  transpiring.  The 
people  were  to  be  left  "  perfectly  free,"  "  subject  only  to  the 
Constitution."  What  the  Constitution  had  to  do  with  it, 
outsiders  could  not  then  see.  Plainly  enough  now,  it  was  an 
exactly  fitted  niche  for  the  Dred  Scott  decision  afterward  to 
come  in,  and  declare  that  perfect  freedom  of  the  people  to  be 
just  no  freedom  at  all. 

"  Why  was  the  amendment  expressly  declaring  the  right 
of  the  people  to  exclude  slavery,  voted  down  ?  Plainly 
enough  now,  the  adoption  of  it  would  have  spoiled  the  niche 
for  the  Dred  Scott  decision. 

"Why  was  the  court  decision  held  up?  Why  even  a 
Senator's  individual  opinion  withheld  till  after  the  Presi- 
dential election  ?  Plainly  enough  now ;  the  speaking  out 
then  would  have  damaged  the  "  perfectly  free^''  argument 
upon  which  the  election  was  to  be  carried. 

"  Why  the  outgoing  President's  felicitation  on  the  indorse- 
ment ?  Why  the  delay  of  a  re-argument  ?  Why  the  in- 
coming President's  advance  exhortation  in  favor  of  the  de- 
cision ?  These  things  look  like  the  cautious  patting  and 
petting  of  a  spirited  horse  preparatoiy  to  mounting  him, 
when  it  is  dreaded  that  he  may  give  the  rider  a  fall.  And 
why  the  hasty  after-indorsements  of  the  decision,  by  the 
President  and  others  ? 

"We  cannot  absolutely  know  that  all  these  exact  adapta- 
tions are  the  result  of  pre-concert.  But  when  we  see  a  lot 
of  framed  timbers,  different  portions  of  which  we  know  have 
been  gotten  out,  at  different  times  and  places,  and  by  different 
workmen — Stephen,  Franklin,  Roger,  and  James,  for  in- 
stance— and  when  we  see  these  timbers  joined  together,  and 
see  they  exactly  make  the  frame  of  a  house  or  a  mill,  all  the 
tenons  and  mortices  exactly  fitting,  and  all  the  lengths  and 
proportions  of  the  different  pieces  exactly  adapted  to  their 
respective  places,  and  not  a  piece  too  many  or  too  few — not 
omitting  even  scaffolding — or,  if  a  single  piece  be  lacking, 


28  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

First  Speech  Senatorial  Canvass,  1858.  The  Nebraska  Bill. 

we  can  see  the  place  in  the  frame  exactly  fitted  and  prepared 
to  yet  bring  such  piece  in — in  such  a  case,  we  find  it  impossi- 
ble not  to  believe  that  Stephen  and  Franklin  and  Roger  and 
James  all  understood  one  another  from  the  beginning,  and  all 
worked  upon  a  common  plan  or  draft  drawn  up  before  the 
first  blow  was  struck. 

"  It  should  not  be  overlooked  that,  by  the  Nebraska  bill, 
the  people  of  a  State  as  well  as  Territory,  were  to  be  left 
' perfectly  free,''  ^subject  only  to  the  Constitution.''  Why 
mention  a  State  ?  They  were  legislating  for  Territories,  and 
not  for  or  about  States.  Certainly  the  people  of  a  State  are 
and  ought  to  be  subject  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States ;  but  why  is  mention  of  this  lugged  into  this  merely 
territorial  law  ?  Why  are  the  people  of  a  Territory  and  the 
people  of  a  State  therein  lamped  together,  and  their  relation 
to  the  Constitution  therein  treated  as  being  precisely  the 
same  ? 

"While  the  opinion  of  the  court,  by  Chief  Justice  Taney, 
in  the  Dred  Scott  case,  and  the  separate  opinions  of  all  the 
concurring  judges,  expressly  declare  that  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  neither  permits  Congress  nor  a  Territorial 
Legislature,  to  exclude  slavery  from  any  United  States 
Territory,  they  all  omit  to  declare  whether  or  not  the  same 
Constitution  permits  a  State,  or  the  people  of  a  State,  to 
exclude  it.  Possibly,  this  was  a  mere  omission;  but  who 
can  be  quite  sure,  if  McLean  or  Curtis  had  sought  to  get 
into  the  opinion  a  declaration  of  unlimited  power  in  the 
people  of  a  State  to  exclude  slavery  from  their  limits,  just  as 
Chase  and  Mace  sought  to  get  such  declaration,  in  behalf  of 
the  people  of  a  Territory,  into  the  Nebraska  bill — I  ask,  who 
can  be  quite  sure  that  it  would  not  have  been  voted  down,  in 
the  one  case  as  it  had  been  in  the  other. 

"  The  nearest  approach  to  the  point  of  declaring  the  power 
of  a  State  over  slavery,  is  made  by  Judge  Nelson.  He 
approaches  it  more  than  once,  using  the  precise  idea,  and 


IN   CONGRESS   AND   ON   THE   STUMP.  29 


Fii-st  Speech  Senatorial  Canvass,  1858.  The  power  of  a  State  over  Slavery. 

almost  the  language,  too,  of  the  Nebraska  Act.  On  one 
occasion  his  exact  language  is,  '  except  in  cases  where  the 
power  is  restrained  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
the  law  of  the  State  is  supreme  over  the  subject  of  slavery 
within  its  jurisdiction.' 

"  In  what  cases  the  power  of  the  State  is  so  restrained  by 
the  United  States  Constitution,  is  left  an  open  question,  pre- 
cisely as  the  same  question,  as  to  the  restraint  on  the  power 
of  the  Territories  was  left  open  in  the  Nebraska  Act.  Put 
that  and  that  together,  and  we  have  another  nice  little  niche, 
which  we  may  ere  long,  see  filled  with  another  Supreme 
Court  decision,  declaring  that  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  does  not  permit  a  State  to  exclude  slavery  from  its 
limits.  And  this  may  especially  be  expected  if  the  doctrine 
of  'care  not  whether  slavery  be  voted  down  or  voted  up,' 
shall  gain  upon  the  public  mind  sufiBciently  to  give  promise 
that  such  a  decision  can  be  maintained  when  made. 

"  Such  a  decision  is  all  that  slavery  now  lacks  of  being 
alike  lawful  in  all  the  States.  "Welcome  or  unwelcome,  such 
decision  is  probably  coming,  and  will  soon  be  upon  us, 
unless  the  power  of  the  present  political  dynasty  shall  be  met 
and  overthrown.  We  shall  lie  down  pleasantly  dreaming 
that  the  people  of  Missouri  are  on  the  verge  of  making 
their  State  free  ;  and  we  shall  awake  to  the  reality,  instead, 
that  the  Supreme  Court  has  made  Illinois  a  slave  State. 

"  To  meet  and  overthrow  the  power  of  that  dynasty,  is  the 
work  now  before  all  those  who  would  prevent  that  consum- 
mation. That  is  what  we  have  to  do.  But  how  can  we 
best  do  it  ? 

"  There  are  those  who  denounce  us  openly  to  their  own 
friends,  and  yet  whisper  softly,  that  Senator  Douglas  is  the 
aptest  instrument  there  is,  with  which  to  effect  that  object. 
They  do  not  tell  us,  nor  has  he  told  us,  that  he  wishes  any 
such  object  to  be  effected.  They  wish  us  to  infer  all,  from 
the  facts  that  he  now  has  a  little  quarrel  with  the  present 


30  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

First  Speech  Senatorial  Canvass,  1S5S.  The  advances  of  Slavery. 

head  of  the  dynasty ;  and  that  he  has  regularly  voted  with 
us,  on  a  single  point,  upon  which  he  and  we  have  never 
differed. 

"  They  remind  us  that  he  is  a  very  great  man,  and  that 
the  largest  of  us  are  very  small  ones.  Let  this  be  granted. 
But  'a  living  dog  is  better  than  a  dead  lion.^  Judge 
Douglas,  if  not  a  dead  lion  for  this  work,  is  at  least  a  caged 
and  toothless  one.  How  can  he  oppose  the  advances  of 
slavery  ?  He  don't  care  anything  about  it.  His  avowed 
mission  is  impressing  the  '  public  heart'  to  care  nothing 
about  it. 

"A  leading  Douglas  Democrat  newspaper  thinks  Douglas's 
superior  talent  will  be  needed  to  resist  the  revival  of  the 
African  slave-trade.  Does  Douglas  believe  an  effort  to 
revive  that  trade  is  approaching  ?  He  has  not  said  so. 
Does  he  really  think  so  ?  But  if  it  is,  bow  can  he  resist  it  ? 
For  years  he  has  labored  to  prove  it  a  sacred  right  of  white 
men  to  take  negro  slaves  into  the  new  Territories.  Can  he 
possibly  show  that  it  is  less  a  sacred  right  to  buy  them  where 
they  can  be  bought  cheapest  ?  And,  unquestionably  they 
can  be  bought  cheaper  in  Africa  than  in  Virginia. 

"  He  has  done  all  in  his  power  to  reduce  the  whole  question 
of  slavery  to  one  of  a  mere  right  of  property ;  and  as  such, 
how  can  he  oppose  the  foreign  slave-trade — how  can  he 
refuse  that  trade  in  that  '  pi'operty'  shall  be  '  perfectly 
free' — unless  he  does  it  as  a  protection  to  the  home  produc 
tion  ?  And  as  the  home  producers  will  probably  not  ask  the 
protection,  he  will  be  wholly  without  a  ground  of  opposition 

"  Senator  Douglas  holds,  we  know,  that  a  man  may 
rightfully  be  wiser  to-day  than  he  was  yesterday  —  that 
he  may  rightfully  change  when  he  finds  himself  wrong.  But 
can  we  for  that  reason  run  ahead  and  infer  that  he  will  make 
any  particular  change,  of  which  he  himself  has  given  no 
intimation  ?  Can  we  safely  base  our  action  upon  any  such 
vague  inferences  ? 


m   CONGRESS    AND   ON   THE   STUMP.  31. 

Fii-st  Speech  Senatorial  Canvass,  1858.  The  great  Struggle  hetween  the  Candidatea. 


"  Now,  as  ever,  I  wish  not  to  misrepresent  Judge  Douglas's 
position,  question  his  motives,  or  do  aught  that  can  be  per- 
sonally offensive  to  him.  Whenever,  if  ever,  he  and  we  can 
come  together  on  principle,  so  that  our  great  cause  may 
have  assistance  from  his  great  ability,  I  hope  to  have  inter- 
posed no  adventitious  obstacle. 

"But  clearly,  he  is  not  now  with  us — he  does  not  pretend 
to  be — he  does  not  promise  ever  to  be.  Our  cause,  then, 
must  be  intrusted  to,  and  conducted  by  its  own  undoubted 
friends — those  whose  hands  are  free,  whose  hearts  are  in  the 
work — who  do  care  for  the  result. 

"  Two  years  ago  the  Republicans  of  the  nation  mustered 
over  thirteen  hundred  thousand  strong.  We  did  this  under 
the  single  impulse  of  resistance  to  a  common  danger,  with 
every  external  circumstance  against  us.  Of  strange,  dis- 
cordant, and  even  hostile  elements,  we  gathered  from  the 
four  winds,  and  formed  and  fought  the  battle  through,  under 
the  constant  hot  fire  of  a  disciplined,  proud  and  pampered 
enemy.  Did  we  brave  all  then  to  falter  now  ? — now — when 
that  same  enemy  is  wavering,  dissevered  and  belligerent  ? 

"  The  result  is  not  doubtful.  We  shall  not  fail — if  we 
stand  firm,  we  shall  not  fail.  Wise  counsels  may  accelerate 
or  mistakes  delay  it,  but,  sooner  or  later,  the  victory  is  sure 
to  come." 

In  this  most  vigorously  prosecuted  canvass  Illinois  was 
stumped  throughout  its  length  and  breadth  by  both  candidates 
and  their  respective  advocates,  and  the  struggle  was  watched 
with  interest  by  the  country  at  large.  From  county  to 
county,  from  township  to  township,  and  village  to  village  the 
two  champions  travelled,  frequently  in  the  same  car  or  car- 
riage, and  in  the  presence  of  immense  crowds  of  men,  women, 
and  children — for  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the  hardy  yeo- 
manry were  naturally  interested — argued,  face  to  face,  the 
important  points  of  their  political  belief,  and  contended  nobly 
for  the  mastery. 


32  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLX, 

Tribute  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Its  great  Principles. 

In  one  of  his  speeches  during  this  memorable  campaign, 
Mr.  Lincoln  paid  the  following  tribute  to  the  Declaration  of 
Independence : — 

"  These  communities,  (the  thirteen  colonies,)  by  their 
representatives  in  old  Independence  Hall,  said  to  the  world 
of  men,  '  we  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men 
are  born  equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with 
inalienable  rights ;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness.'  This  was  their  majestic  interpretation 
of  the  economy  of  the  universe.  This  was  their  lofty,  and 
wise,  and  noble  understanding  of  the  justice  of  the  Creator  to 
His  creatures.  Yes,  gentlemen,  to  all  His  creatures,  to  the 
whole  great  family  of  man.  In  their  enlightened  belief,  no- 
thing stamped  with  the  Divine  image  and  likeness  was  sent 
into  the  world  to  be  trodden  on,  and  degraded,  and  imbruted 
by  its  fellows.  They  grasped  not  only  the  race  of  men  then 
living,  but  they  reached  forward  and  seized  upon  the  furthest 
posterity.  They  created  a  beacon  to  guide  their  children  and 
their  children's  children,  and  the  countless  myriads  who 
should  inhabit  the  eai'th  in  other  ages.  Wise  statesmen  as 
they  were,  they  knew  the  tendency  of  prosperity  to  breed 
tyrants,  and  so  they  established  these  great  self-evident 
truths  that  when,  in  the  distant  future,  some  man,  some  fac- 
tion, some  interest,  should  set  up  the  doctrine  that  none  but 
rich  men,  or  none  but  white  men,  or  none  but  Anglo-Saxon 
white  men,  were  entitled  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness,  their  posterity  might  look  up  again  to  the  Declar- 
ation of  Independence,  and  take  courage  to  renew  the  battle, 
which  their  fathers  began,  so  that  truth,  and  justice,  and 
mercy,  and  all  the  humane  and  Christian  virtues  might  not 
be  extinguished  from  the  land  ;  so  that  no  man  would  here- 
after dare  to  limit  and  circumscribe  the  great  principles  on 
which  the  temple  of  liberty  was  being  built. 

"  Now,  my  countrymen,  if  you  have  been  taught  doctrines 
conflicting  with  the  great  landmarks  of  the  Declaration  of 


IN"  CONGEESS  AND  ON  THE  STUMP.        33 


Declaration  of  Independence.        An  Immortal  Emblem.         Triumph   of  Judge  Douglas. 


Independence  ;  if  you  have  listened  to  sujrgestions  which 
would  take  away  from  its  grandeur,  and  mutilate  the  fair 
symmetry  of  its  proportions  ;  if  you  have  been  inclined  to  be- 
lieve that  all  men  are  not  created  equal  in  those  inalienable 
rights  enumerated  by  our  chart  of  liberty,  let  me  entreat  you 
to  come  back — return  to  the  fountain  whose  waters  spring 
close  by  the  blood  of  the  Revolution.  Think  nothing  of  me, 
take  no  thought  for  the  political  fate  of  any  man  whomsoever, 
but  come  back  to  the  truths  that  are  in  the  Declaration  of 
Independence. 

"  You  may  do  any  thing  with  me  you  choose,  if  you  will 
but  heed  these  sacred  principles.  You  may  not  only  defeat 
me  for  the  Senate,  but  you  may  take  me  and  put  me  to  death. 
While  pretending  no  indiiference  to  earthly  honors,  I  do  claim 
to  be  actuated  in  this  contest  by  something  higher  than  an 
anxiety  for  office.  I  charge  you  to  drop  every  paltry  and 
insignificant  thought  for  any  man's  success.  It  is  nothing  :  I 
am  nothing  ;  Judge  Douglas  is  nothing.  But  do  not  destrou 
that  immortal  emblem  of  humanity — the  Declaration  of  Amer- 
ican Independence.''^ 

In  the  election  which  closed  this  contest,  the  Republicau 
candidate  received  126,084  votes ;  the  Douglas  Democrats, 
121,9-40 ;  and  the  Lecompton  Democrats,  5,091.  Mr. 
Douglas  was,  however,  re-elected  to  the  Senate  by  the  Legis- 
lature, in  which,  owing  to  the  peculiar  apportionment  of  the 
legislative  districts  his  supporters  had  a  majority  of  eight 
in  joint  ballot. 
3 


34  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

The  campaign  of  1859.  His  Cinciunati  Speech.        Results  of  a  Republican  Triumph. 


CHAPTER   III. 


BEFORE     THE     NATION. 


Speeches  in  Ohio — Extract  from  his  Cincinnati  Speech — Tisits  the  East — Celebrated 
Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute,  New  York — Interesting  Incident. 

The  issue  of  this  contest  with  Douglas,  seemingly  a  defeat, 
was  destined  in  due  time  to  prove  a  decisive  triumph.  Mr. 
Lincoln's  reputation  as  a  skillful  debater  and  master  of  polit- 
ical fence  was  secure,  and  admitted  throughout  the  land. 
During  the  year  ensuing  he  again  devoted  himself  almost 
exclusively  to  professional  labors,  delivering,  however,  in  the 
campaign  of  1859,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  the  Repub- 
licans of  Ohio,  two  most  convincing  speeches  in  that  State, 
one  at  Columbus,  and  the  other  at  Cincinnati. 

In  his  speech  in  the  latter  city,  alluding  to  the  certainty  of 
a  speedy  Republican  triumph  in  the  nation,  Mr.  Lincoln  thus 
sketched  what  he  regarded  as  the  inevitable  results  of  such 
a  victory : 

"  I  will  tell  you,  so  far  as  I  am  authorized  to  speak  for  the 
opposition,  what  we  mean  to  do  with  you.  We  mean  to 
treat  you,  as  nearly  as  we  possibly  can,  as  Washington, 
Jefferson,  and  Madison  treated  you.  We  mean  to  leave  you 
alone,  and  in  no  way  interfere  with  your  institution  ;  to  abide 
by  all  and  every  compromise  of  the  Constitution ;  and,  in  a 
word,  coming  back  to  the  original  proposition  to  treat  you, 
so  far  as  degenerated  men  (if  we  have  degenerated)  may, 
imitating  the  example  of  those  noble  fathers,  Washington, 
.leflferson,  and  Madison.  We  mean  to  remember  that  you  are 
as  good  as  we ;  that  there  is  no  diflfereuce  between  us  other 
than  the  difference  of  circumstances.     We  mean  to  recognize 


BEFOEE    THE   NATION.  35 

The  campaign  of  1859.  His  Cincinnati  Speech.  Dividing  the  Union. 

and  bear  in  mind  always  that  you  have  as  good  hearts  in 
your  bosoms  as  other  people^  or  as  we  claim  to  have,  and 
treat  you  accordingly.  We  mean  to  marry  your  girls  when 
we  have  a  chance — the  white  ones  I  mean— and  I  have  the 
honor  to  inform  you  that  I  once  did  get  a  chance  in  that 
way. 

"  I  have  told  you  what  we  mean  to  do.  I  want  to  know, 
now,  when  that  thing  takes  place,  what  you  mean  to  do.  I 
often  hear  it  intimated  that  you  mean  to  divide'^the  Union 
whenever  a  Republican,  or  any  thing  like  it,  is  elected  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States.  [A  voice,  'That  is  so.']  'That 
is  so,'  one  of  them  says.  I  wonder  if  he  is  a  Kentuckian  ? 
[A  voice,  'He  is  a  Douglas  man.']  Well,  then,  I  want  to 
know  what  you  are  going  to  do  with  your  half  of  it  ?  Are 
you  going  to  split  the  Ohio  down  through,  and  push  your 
half  off  a  piece  ?  Or  are  you  going  to  keep  it  right  alongside 
of  us  outrageous  fellows  ?  Or  are  you  going  to  build  up  a  wall 
some  way  between  your  country  and  ours,  by  which  that 
movable  property  of  yours  cau't  come  over  here  any  more, 
and  you  lose  it  ?  Do  you  think  you  can  better  yourselves  on 
that  subject,  by  leaving  us  here  under  no  obligation  whatever 
to  return  those  specimens  of  your  movable  property  that 
come  hither  ?  You  have  divided  the  Union  because  we 
would  not  do  right  with  you,  as  you  think,  upon  that  subject ; 
when  we  cease  to  be  under  obligations  to  do  any  thing  for 
you,  how  much  better  off  do  you  think  you  will  be  ?  Will 
you  make  war  upon  us  and  kill  us  all  ?  Why,  gentlemen,  I 
think  you  are  as  gallant  and  as  brave  men  as  live  ;  that  you 
can  fight  as  bravely  in  a  good  cause,  man  for  man,  as  any 
other  people  living ;  that  you  have  shown  yourselves  capable 
of  this  upon  various  occasions ;  but,  man  for  man,  you  are 
not  better  than  we  are,  and  there  are  not  so  many  of  vou  as 
there  are  of  us.  You  will  never  make  much  of  a  hand  at 
whipping  us.  If  we  were  fewer  in  numbers  than  you,  I 
think  that  you  could  whip  us }  if  we  were  equal  it  would 


36  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN". 

His  Ciuciimati  Speech.  Visits  the  East.  Cooper  Institute  Speech. 

likely  be  a  drawn  battle  ;   but  being  inferior  in  numbers,  you 
will  make  nothing  by  attempting  to  master  us. 

"  I  say  that  we  must  not  interfere  with  the  institution  of 
Slavery  in  the  States  where  it  exists,  because  the  Constitution 
forbids  it,  and  the  general  welfare  does  not  require  us  to  do 
so.  We  must  not  withhold  an  efficient  fugitive  slave  law 
because  the  Constitution  requires  us,  as  I  understand  it,  not 
to  withhold  such  a  law,  but  we  must  prevent  the  outspread- 
ing of  the  institution,  because  neither  the  constitution  nor  the 
general  welfare  requires  us  to  extend  it.  We  must  prevent 
the  revival  of  the  African  slave-trade  and  the  enacting  by 
Congress  of  a  Territorial  slave  code.  We  must  prevent  each 
of  these  things  being  done  by  either  Congresses  or  Courts. 
The  people  of  these  United  States  are  the  rightful 
MASTERS  OF  BOTH  CONGRESSES  AND  COURTS,  not  to  Overthrow 
the  Constitution,  but  to  overthrow  the  men  who  pervert 
that  Constitution." 

In  the  spring  of  1860,  Mr.  Lincoln  yielded  to  the  urgent 
calls  which  came  to  him  from  the  East  for  his  aid  in  the  ex- 
citing canvasses  then  in  progress  in  that  section,  and  spoke 
at  various  places  in  Connecticut,  New  Hampshire,  and  Rhode 
Island,  and  also  in  New  York  city,  and  was  everywhere 
warmly  welcomed  by  immense  audiences. 

Without  doubt,  one  of  the  greatest  speeches  of  his  life  was 
that  delivered  by  him  in  the  Cooper  Institute,  in  New  York, 
on  the  27th  of  February,  1860,  in  the  presence  of  a  crowded 
assembly  which  received  him  with  the  most  enthusiastic 
demonstrations.  We  subjoin  a  full  report  of  this  masterly 
analysis  of  men  and  measures.  After  being  introduced  in 
highly  complimentary  terms  by  the  venerable  William  Cullen 
Bryant,  who  presided  on  the  occasion,  he  proceeded  : 

"  Mr.  President  and  Fellow  Citizens  of  New  York  : — 
The  facts  with  which  I  shall  deal  this  evening  are  mainly  old 
and  familiar ;  nor  is  there  any  thing  new  in  the  general  use 
I  shall  make  of  them.     If  there  shall  be  any  novelty,  it  will 


BEFORE    THE    NATION.  37 

His  Speech  at  Cooper  Institute.  The  Fathers  of  the  Constitution. 


be  in  the  mode  of  presenting  the  facts,  and  the  inferences  and 
observations  following  that  presentation. 

"  In  his  speech  last  autumn,  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  as  reported 
in  Tlie  New  York  Times,  Senator  Douglas  said  : 

"  '  Our  fathers,  when  they  framed  the  Government  under 
which  we  live,  understood  this  question  just  as  well,  and 
even  better  than  we  do  now.' 

"  I  fully  indorse  this  and  I  adopt  it  as  a  text  for  this  dis- 
course. I  so  adopt  it  because  it  furnishes  a  precise  and 
agreed  starting  point  for  the  discussion  between  Republicans 
aud  that  wing  of  Democracy  headed  by  Senator  Doughis.  It 
simply  leaves  the  inquiry  :  *  What  was  the  understanding 
those  fathers  had  of  the  questions  mentioned  ?' 

"  What  is  the  frame  of  Government  under  which  we  live  ? 

"  The  answer  must  be  :  '  The  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.'  That  Constitution  consists  of  the  original,  framed 
in  1787  (and  under  which  the  present  Government  first  went 
into  operation),  and  twelve  subsequently  framed  amendments, 
the  first  ten  of  which  were  framed  in  1789. 

"  Who  were  our  fathers  that  framed  the  Constitution  ?  I 
suppose  the  '  thirty-nine'  who  signed  the  origin^ll  instrument 
may  be  fairly  called  our  fathers  who  framed  that  part  of  the 
present  Government.  It  is  almost  exactly  true  to  say  they 
framed  it,  and  it  is  altogether  true  to  say  they  fairly  repre- 
sented the  opinion  and  sentiment  of  the  whole  nation  at  that 
time.  Their  names  being  familiar  to  nearly  all,  and  accessible 
to  quite  all,  need  not  now  be  repeated. 

"I  take  these  'thirty-nine,'  for  the  present,  as  being  'our 
fathers  who  framed  the  Government  under  which  we  live.' 

"  What  is  the  question  which,  according  to  the  text,  those 
fathers  understood  just  as  well,  and  even  better  than  we  do 
now  ? 

"  It  is  this  :  Does  the  proper  division  of  local  from  federal 
authority,  or  any  thing  in  the  Constitution,  forbid  our  Federal 
Government  control  as  to  slavery  in  our  Federal  Territories  ? 


'6b  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.  Slavery  and  the  Federal  Government. 

"  Upon  this,  Douglas  holds  the  affirmative,  and  Republicans 
the  negative.  This  affirmative  and  denial  form  an  issue  ;  and 
this  issue — this  question — is  precisely  what  the  text  declares 
our  fathers  understood  better  than  we. 

"Let  us  now  inquire  whether  the  'thirty-nine,'  or  any  of 
them,  ever  acted  upon  this  question ;  and  if  they  did,  how 
they  acted  upon  it — how  they  expressed  that  better  under- 
standing. 

"In  1784  —  three  years  before  the  Constitution  —  the 
United  States  then  owning  the  Northwestern  Territory,  and 
no  other — the  Congress  of  the  Confederation  had  before  them 
the  question  of  prohibiting  slavery  in  that  Territory ;  and 
four  of  the  'thirty-nine'  who  afterward  framed  the  Constitu- 
tion were  in  that  Congress,  and  voted  on  that  question.  Of 
these,  Roger  Sherman,  Thomas  Mifflin,  and  Hugh  William- 
son voted  for  the  prohibition — thus  showing  that,  in  their 
understanding,  no  line  dividing  local  from  federal  authority, 
nor  any  thing  else,  properly  forbade  the  Federal  Government 
to  control  as  to  slavery  in  federal  territory.  The  other  of  the 
four — James  McHenry — voted  against  the  prohibition,  show- 
ing that,  for  some  cause,  he  thought  it  improper  to  vote 
for  it. 

"In  1T87,  still  before  the  Constitution,  but  while  the  Con- 
vention was  in  session  framing  it,  and  while  the  North- 
western Territory  still  was  the  only  territory  owned  by  the 
United  States — the  same  question  of  prohibiting  slavery  in 
the  territory  again  came  before  the  Congress  of  the  Confeder- 
ation ;  and  three  more  of  the  '  thirty-nine'  who  afterward 
signed  the  Constitution,  were  in  that  Congress,  and  voted  on 
the  question.  They  were  William  Blount,  William  Few, 
and  Abraham  Baldwin  ;  and  they  all  voted  for  the  prohibition 
— thus  showing  that,  in  their  understanding,  no  line  dividing 
local  from  federal  authority,  nor  any  thing  else,  properly  for- 
bids the  Federal  Government  to  control  as  to  slavery  in 
federal  territory.     This  time  the  prohibition  became  a  law, 


BEFORE   THE   NATION.  89 


Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.  Slavery  in  the  Tenitoriea. 

being  part  of  what  is  now  well  known  as  the  Ordinance 
of  '87. 

"  The  question  of  federal  control  of  slavery  in  the  territories, 
seems  not  to  have  been  directly  before  the  Convention  which 
framed  the  original  Constitution  ;  and  hence  it  is  not  recorded 
that  the  '  thirty-nine'  or  any  of  them,  while  engaged  on  that 
instrument,  expressed  any  opinion  on  that  precise  question. 

"  In  1189,  by  the  First  congress  which  sat  under  the  Con- 
stitution, an  act  was  passed  to  enforce  the  Ordinance  of  '87, 
including  the  prohibition  of  slavery  in  the  North-western 
Territory.  The  bill  for  this  act  was  reported  by  one  of  the 
'thirty-nine,'  Thomas  Fitzsimmons,  then  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  from  Pennsylvania.  It  went 
through  all  its  stages  without  a  word  of  opposition,  and 
finally  passed  both  branches  without  yeas  and  nays,  which  is 
equivalent  to  an  unanimous  passage.  In  this  Congress  there 
were  sixteen  of  the  '  thirty-nine'  fathers  who  framed  the  orig- 
inal Constitution.  They  were  John  Langdon,  Nicholas  Gil- 
man,  Wm.  S.  Johnson,  Roger  Sherman,  Robert  Morris, 
Thos.  Fitzsimmons,  William  Few,  Abraham  Baldwin,  Rufus 
King,  William  Patterson,  George  Clyiuer,  Richard  Bassett, 
George  Read,  Pierce  Butler,  Daniel  Carrol,  James  Madison. 

"  This  shows  that,  in  their  understanding,  no  line  dividing 
local  from  federal  authority,  nor  any  thing  in  the  Constitutiou, 
properly  forbade  Congress  to  prohibit  slavery  in  the  federal 
territory  ;  else  both  their  fidelity  to  correct  principle,  and  their 
oath  to  support  the  Constitution,  would  have  constrained 
them  to  oppose  the  prohibition. 

"Again,  George  Washington,  another  of  the  '  thirty -nine,' 
was  then  President  of  the  United  States,  and,  as  such,  ap- 
proved and  signed  the  bill,  thus  completing  its  validity  as  a 
law,  and  thus  showing  that,  in  his  understanding,  no  line 
dividing  local  from  federal  authority,  nor  any  thing  in  the 
Constitution,  forbade  the  Federal  Government  to  control  as 
to  slavery  in  Federal  territory. 


40  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Uis  Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.  Slavery  in  Mi.-isissippi.  In  Louisi-tiia. 

"  No  great  while  after  the  adoption  of  the  original  Consti- 
tution, North  Carolina  ceded  to  the  Federal  Government  the 
country  now  constituting  the  State  of  Tennessee  ;  and  a  few 
years  later  Georgia  ceded  that  which  now  constitutes  the 
States  of  Mississippi  and  Alabama.  In  both  deeds  of  cession 
it  was  made  a  condition  by  the  ceding  States  that  the  Federal 
Government  should  not  prohibit  slavery  in  the  ceded  country. 
Besides  this,  slavery  was  then  actually  in  the  ceded  country. 
Under  these  circumstances,  Congress,  on  taking  charge  of 
these  countries  did  not  absolutely  prohibit  slavery  within 
them.  But  they  did  interfere  with  it — take  control  of  it — 
even  there,  to  a  certain  extent.  In  1*798,  Congress  organized 
the  Territory  of  Mississippi.  In  the  act  of  organization  they 
prohibited  the  bringing  of  slaves  into  the  Territory,  from  any 
place  without  the  United  States,  by  fine  and  giving  freedom 
to  slaves  so  brought.  This  act  passed  both  branches  of 
Congress  without  yeas  and  nays.  In  that  Congress  were 
three  of  the  '  thirty-nine'  who  framed  the  original  Constitution. 
They  were  John  Langdon,  George  Read,  and  Abraham 
Baldwin.  They  all,  probably,  voted  for  it.  Certainly  they 
would  have  placed  their  opposition  to  it  upon  record,  if,  in 
their  understanding,  any  line  dividing  local  from  Federal 
authority,  or  any  thing  in  the  Constitution,  properly  forbade 
the  Federal  Government  to  control  as  to  slavery  in  Federal 
territory. 

"  In  1803,  the  Federal  Government  purchased  the  Louisiana 
country.  Our  former  territorial  acquisitions  came  from 
certain  of  our  own  States  ;  but  this  Louisiana  country  was 
acquired  from  a  foreign  nation.  In  1804,  Congress  gave  a 
territorial  organization  to  that  part  of  it  which  now  consti- 
tutes the  State  of  Louisiana.  New  Orleans,  lying  within 
that  part,  was  an  old  and  comparatively  large  city.  There 
were  other  considerable  towns  and  settlements,  and  slavery 
was  extensively  and  thoroughly  intermingled  with  the  people. 
Congress  did  not,  in  the  Territorial  Act,  prohibit  slavery ; 


BEFOKE   THE   ]S^ATIO^'■.  41 


His  Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.        Slavery  in  Louisiana.  The  Missouri  Question. 


but  they  did  interfere  with  it — take  control  of  it — in  a  more 
marked  and  extensive  way  than  they  did  in  the  case  of  Mis- 
sissippi. The  substance  of  the  provision  therein  made,  in 
relation  to  slaves,  was  : 

"First.  That  no  slave  should  be  imported  into  the  territory 
from  foreign  parts. 

"Second.  That  no  slave  should  be  carried  into  it  who  had 
been  imported  into  the  United  States  since  the  first  day  of 
May,  1798. 

''Third.  That  no  slave  should  be  carried  into  it,  except  by 
the  owner,  and  for  his  own  use  as  a  settler;  the  penalty  in  all 
the  cases  being  a  fine  upon  the  violator  of  the  law,  and  free- 
dom to  the  slave. 

"  This  act  also  was  passed  without  yeas  and  nays.  In  the 
Congress  which  passed  it,  there  were  two  of  the  '  thirty-nine.' 
They  were  Abraham  Baldwin  and  Jonathan  Dayton.  As 
stated  in  the  case  of  Mississippi,  it  is  probable  they  both 
voted  for  it.  They  would  not  have  allowed  it  to  pass  without 
recording  their  opposition  to  it,  if,  in  their  understanding,  it 
violated  either  the  line  proper  dividing  local  from  Federal 
authority  or  any  provision  of  the  Constitution, 

"In  1819-20,  came  and  passed  the  Missouri  question. 
Many  votes  were  taken,  by  yeas  and  nays,  in  both  branches 
of  Congress,  upon  the  various  phases  of  the  general  question. 
Two  of  the  'thirty-nine' — Rufus  King  and  Charles  Pinckney — 
were  members  of  that  Congress.  Mr.  King  steadily  voted  for 
slavery  prohibition  and  against  all  compromises,  while  Mr. 
Pinckney  as  steadily  voted  against  slavery  prohibition  and 
against  all  compromises.  By  this  Mr.  King  showed  that,  in 
his  understanding,  no  line  dividing  local  from  Federal  au- 
thority, nor  any  thing  in  the  Constitution,  was  violated  by 
Congress  prohibiting  slavery  in  Federal  territory ;  while  Mr. 
Pinckney,  by  his  votes,  showed  that  in  his  understanding 
there  was  some  sufficient  reason  for  opposing  such  prohibition 
iu  that  case. 


42  LIFE    OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

His  Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.  Views  of  the  Original  "  Thirty-Nine." 

"  The  cases  I  have  mentioned  are  the  only  acts  of  the 
'thirty-nine,'  or  of  any  of  them,  upon  the  direct  issue,  which 
I  have  been  able  to  discover. 

"  To  enumerate  the  persons  who  thus  acted,  as  being  four 
in  1784,  three  in  1187,  seventeen  in  1789,  three  in  1798,  two 
in  1804,  and  two  in  1819-20 — there  would  be  thirty-one  of 
them.  But  this  would  be  counting  John  Langdon,  Roger 
Sherman,  William  Few,  Rufus  King,  and  George  Read*,  each 
twice,  and  Abraham  Baldwin  four  times.  The  true  number 
of  those  of  the  'thirty-nine'  whom  I  have  shown  to  have 
acted  upon  the  question,  which,  by  the  text  they  understood 
better  than  we,  is  twenty-three,  leaving  sixteen  not  shown  to 
have  acted  upon  it  in  any  way. 

"Here,  then,  we  have  twenty -three  out  of  our  'thirty-nine* 
fathers  who  framed  the  government  under  which  we  live, 
who  have,  upon  their  official  responsibility  and  their  corporal 
oaths,  acted  upon  the  very  question  which  the  text  affirms 
they  'understood  just  as  well,  and  even  better  than  we  do 
now;'  and  twenty-one  of  them — a  clear  majority  of  the 
'  thirty-nine' — so  acting  upon  it  as  to  make  them  guilty  of 
gross  political  impropriety,  and  wilful  perjury,  if,  in  their 
understanding,  any  proper  division  between  local  and  Federal 
authority,  or  any  thing  in  the  Constitution  they  had  made 
themselves,  and  sworn  to  support,  forbade  the  Federal 
Government  to  control  as  to  slavery  in  the  Federal  territories. 
Thus  the  twenty-one  acted;  and,  as  actions  speak  louder 
than  words,  so  actions  under  such  responsibility  speak  still 
louder. 

"  Two  of  the  twenty-three  voted  against  Congressional 
prohibition  of  slavery  in  the  Federal  Territories,  in  the 
instances  in  which  they  acted  upon  the  question.  But  for 
what  reasons  they  so  voted  is  not  known.  They  may  have 
done  so  because  they  thought  a  proper  division  of  local 
from  Federal  authority,  or  some  provision  or  principle  of  the 
Constitution,  stood  in  the  way ;  or  they  may,  without  any 


BEFORE   THE   NATION.  43 

His  Spficch  at  the  Cooper  Institute.  Views  of  the  "  Thirt j--Xine"  on  Slavery. 

such  question,  have  voted  against  the  prohibition,  on  what 
appeared  to  them  to  be  sufficient  grounds  of  expediency.  No 
one  who  has  sworn  to  support  the  Constitution,  can  con- 
scientiously vote  for  what  he  understands  to  be  an  unconsti- 
tutional measure,  however  expedient  he  may  think  it ;  but 
one  may  and  ought  to  vote  against  a  measure  which  he 
deems  constitutional,  if,  at  the  same  time,  he  deems  it  inex- 
pedient. It,  therefore,  would  be  unsafe  to  set  down  even  the 
two  who  voted  against  the  prohibition,  as  having  done  so 
because,  in  their  understanding,  any  proper  division  of  local 
from  Federal  authority,  or  any  thing  in  the  Constitution, 
forbade  the  Federal  Govornment  to  control  as  to  slavery  in 
Federal  Territory. 

"The  remaining  sixteen  of  the  'thirty-nine,'  so  far  as  I 
have  discovered,  have  left  no  record  of  their  understanding 
upon  the  direct  question  of  Federal  control  of  slavery  in  the 
Federal  Territories.  But  there  is  much  reason  to  believe 
that  their  understanding  upon  that  question  would  not  have 
appeared  different  from  that  of  their  twenty-three  compeers, 
had  it  been  manifested  at  all. 

"  For  the  purpose  of  adhering  rigidly  to  the  text,  I  have 
purposely  omitted  whatever  understanding  may  have  been 
manifested,  by  any  person,  however  distinguished,  other  than 
the  '  thirty-nine'  fathers  who  framed  the  original  Constitu- 
tion ;  and,  for  the  same  reason,  I  have  also  omitted  whatever 
understanding  may  have  been  manifested  by  any  of  the 
*  thirty-nine'  even,  on  any  other  phase  of  the  general  question 
of  slavery.  If  we  should  look  into  their  acts  and  declara- 
tions on  those  other  phases,  as  the  foreign  slave-trade,  and 
the  morality  and  policy  of  slavery  generally,  it  would  appear 
to  us  that  on  the  direct  question  of  Federal  control  of  slavery 
in  Federal  Territories,  the  sixteen,  if  they  had  acted  at  all, 
would  probably  have  acted  just  as  the  twenty-three  did. 
Among  that  sixteen  were  several  of  the  most  noted  anti- 
slavery  men  of  those  times — as   Dr.   Franklin,   Alexander 


44:  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

His  Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.  Federal  control  of  Slavery. 

Hamilton,  and  Governeur  Morris — while  there  was  not  one 
now  known  to  have  been  otherwise,  unless  it  may  be  John 
Rutledge,  of  South  Carolina. 

"  The  sum  of  the  whole  is,  that  of  our  '  thirty-nine'  fathers 
who  framed  the  original  Constitution,  twenty-one — a  clear 
majority  of  the  whole — certainly  understood  that  no  proper 
division  of  local  from  Federal  authority  nor  any  part  of  the 
Constitution,  forbade  the  Federal  Government  to  control 
slavery  in  the  Federal  Territories,  while  all  the  rest  probably 
had  the  same  understanding.  Such,  unquestionably,  was  the 
understanding  of  our  fathers  who  framed  the  original  Consti- 
tution ;  and  the  text  affirms  that  they  understood  the  question 
better  than  we. 

"  But,  so  far,  I  have  been  considering  the  understanding  of 
the  question  manifested  by  the  framers  of  the  original  Con- 
stitution. In  and  by  the  original  instrument,  a  mode  was 
provided  for  amending  it ;  and,  as  I  have  already  stated,  the 
present  frame  of  government  under  which  we  live  consists 
of  that  original,  and  twelve  amendatory  articles  framed  and 
adopted  since.  Those  who  now  insist  that  Federal  control 
of  slavery  in  Federal  territories  violates  the  Constitution, 
point  us  to  the  provisions  which  they  suppose  it  thus  violates; 
and,  as  I  understand,  they  all  fix  upon  provisions  in  these 
amendatory  articles,  and  not  in  the  original  instrument.  The 
Supreme  Court  in  the  Dred  Scott  case,  plant  themselves 
upon  the  fifth  amendment,  which  provides  that  'no  person 
shall  be  deprived  of  property  without  due  process  of  law  ;' 
while  Senator  Douglas  and  his  peculiar  adherents  plant 
themselves  upon  the  tenth  commandment,  providing  that 
'  the  powers  not  granted  by  the  Constitution  are  reserved  to 
the  States  respectively,  and  to  the  people.' 

"  Now,  it  so  happens  that  these  amendments  were  framed 
by  the  first  Congress  which  sat  under  the  Constitution — the 
identical  Congress  which  passed  the  act  already  mentioned, 
enforcing  the    prohibition   of    slavery  in  the  north-western 


BEFORE   THE   NATION.  45 

His  Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.  Slavery  in  the  Federal  Territories. 

territory.  Not  only  was  it  the  same  Congress,  but  they 
were  the  identical,  same  individual  men  who,  at  the  same 
time  within  the  session,  had  under  consideration,  and  in  pro- 
gress toward  maturity,  these  Constitutional  amendments,  and 
this  act  prohibiting  slaveiy  in  all  the  territory  the  nation 
then  owned.  The  Constitutional  amendments  were  intro- 
duced before,  and  passed  after  the  act  enforcing  the  Ordinance 
of  '87 ;  so  that  during  the  whole  pendency  of  the  act 
to  enforce  the  Ordinance,  the  Constitutional  amendments 
were  also  pending. 

"  That  Congress,  consisting  in  all  of  seventy-six  members, 
including  sixteen  of  the  framers  of  the  original  Constitution, 
as  before  stated,  were  pre-eminently  our  fathers  who  framed 
that  part  of  the  government  under  which  we  live,  which  is 
now  claimed  as  forbidding  the  Federal  Government  to  control 
slavery  in  the  Federal  Territories. 

"  Is  it  not  a  little  presumptuous  in  any  one  at  this  day,  to 
affirm  that  the  two  things  which  that  Congress  deliberately 
framed,  and  carried  to  maturity  at  the  same  time,  are  abso- 
lutely inconsistent  with  each  other  ?  And  does  not  such 
affirmation  become  impudently  absurd  when  coupled  with  the 
other  affirmation,  from  the  same  mouth,  that  those  who  did 
the  two  things  alleged  to  be  inconsistent,  understood  whether 
they  were  really  inconsistent,  better  than  we — better  than  he 
who  affirms  that  they  are  inconsistent. 

"  It  is  surely  safe  to  assume  that  the  'thirty-nine  '  framers 
of  the  original  Constitution,  and  the  seventy-six  members  of 
the  Congress  which  framed  the  amendments  thereto,  taken 
together,  do  certainly  include  those  who  may  be  fairly  called 
'  our  fathers  who  framed  the  government  under  which  we 
live.'  And  so  assuming,  I  defy  any  man  to  show  that  any 
one  of  them  ever,  in  his  whole  life,  declared  that,  in  his  under- 
standing, any  proper  division  of  local  from  Federal  authority, 
or  any  part  of  the  Constitution,  forbade  the  Federal  govern- 
ment to  control  as  to  slavery  in  the  Federal  territories,     I  go 


46  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Ilis  Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.  Slavery  in  the  Federal  TerritorieB. 

a  step  further.  I  defy  any  one  to  show  that  any  living  man 
in  the  whole  world  ever  did,  prior  to  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century  (and  I  might  almost  say  prior  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  last  half  of  the  present  century) ,  declare  that,  in 
his  understanding,  any  proper  division  of  local  from  Federal 
authority,  or  any  part  of  the  Constitution,  forbade  the  Federal 
government  to  control  as  to  slavery  in  the  Federal  territories. 
To  those  who  now  so  declare,  I  give,  not  only  '  our  fathers 
who  framed  the  government  under  which  we  live,'  but  with 
them  all  other  living  men  within  the  century  in  which  it  was 
framed,  among  whom  to  search,  and  they  shall  not  be  able  to 
find  the  evidence  of  a  single  man  agreeing  with  them. 

"  Now,  and  here,  let  me  guard  a  little  against  being  mis- 
understood. I  do  not  mean  to  say  we  are  bound  to  follow 
implicitly  in  whatever  our  fathers  did.  To  do  so  would 
be  to  discard  all  the  lights  of  current  experience — we  reject 
all  progress — all  improvement.  What  1  do  say  is,  that  if  we 
would  supplant  the 'opinions  and  policy  of  our  fathers  in  any 
case,  we  should  do  so  upon  evidence  so  conclusive,  and  argu- 
ment so  clear,  that  even  their  great  authority,  fairly  considered 
and  weighed,  cannot  stand  ;  and  most  surely  not  in  a  case 
whereof  we  ourselves  declare  they  understood  the  question 
better  than  we. 

"  If  any  man,  at  this  day,  sincerely  believes  that  a  proper 
division  of  local  from  Federal  authority,  or  any  part  of  the 
Constitution,  forbids  the  Federal  government  to  control  as  to 
slavery  in  the  Federal  territories,  he  is  right  to  say  so,  and  to 
enforce  his  position  by  all  truthful  evidence  and  fair  argument 
which  he  can.  But  he  has  no  right  to  mislead  others,  who 
have  less  access  to  history  and  less  leisure  to  study  it,  into  the 
false  belief  that  '  our  fathers,  who  framed  the  government 
under  which  we  live,'  were  of  the  same  opinion  thus  sub- 
stituting falsehood  and  deception  for  truthful  evidence  and 
fair  argument.  If  any  man,  at  this  day,  sincerely  believes 
'  our  fathers,  who  framed  the  government  under  which  wo 


BEFORE   THE   NATION.  47 

Ilis  Sijeech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.  All  the  Republiciins  Desire, 

live,'  used  and  applied  principles,  in  other  cases,  which  ought 
to  have  led  them  to  understand  that  a  proper  division  of  local 
from  Federal  authority,  or  some  part  of  the  Constitution,  for- 
bids the  Federal  government  to  control  as  to  slavery  in  the 
Federal  territories,  he  is  right  to  say  so.  But  he  should,  at 
the  same  time,  brave  the  responsibility  of  declaring  that,  iu 
his  opinion,  he  understands  their  principles  better  than  they 
did  themselves ;  and  especially  should  he  not  shirk  that  re- 
sponsibility by  asserting  that  they  '  understood  the  question 
just  as  well,  and  even  better  than  we  do  now.' 

"  But  enough.  Let  all  who  believe  that  '  our  fathers,  who 
framed  the  government  under  which  we  live,  understood  this 
question  just  as  well,  and  even  better  than  we  do  now,'  speak 
as  they  spoke,  and  act  as  they  acted  upon  it.  This  is  all 
Republicans  ask,  all  Republicans  desire,  in  relation  to 
slavery.  As  those  fathers  marked  it,  so  let  it  be  again  marked, 
as  an  evil  not  to  be  extended,  but  to  be  tolerated  and  pro- 
tected only  because  of  and  so  far  as  its  actual  presence  among 
us  makes  that  toleration  and  protection  a  necessity.  Let  all 
the  guaranties  those  fathers  gave  it,  be,  not  grudgingly,  but 
fnlly  and  fairly  maintained.  For  this  Republicans  contend, 
and  with  this,  so  far  as  I  know  or  believe,  they  will  be  con- 
tent. 

"  And  now,  if  they  would  listen — as  I  suppose  they  will 
not — I  would  address  a  few  words  to  the  Southern  people. 

"  I  would  say  to  them  :  You  consider  yourselves  a  reason- 
able and  a  just  people ;  and  I  consider  that,  in  the  general 
qualities  of  reason  and  justice,  you  are  not  inferior  to  any 
other  people.  Still,  when  you  speak  of  us  Republicans,  you 
do  so  only  to  denounce  us  as  reptiles,  or,  at  the  best,  as  no 
better  than  outlaws.  You  will  grant  a  hearing  to  pirates  or 
murderers,  but  nothing  like  it  to  '  Black  Republicans.'  In  all 
your  contentions  with  one  ano  her,  each  of  you  deems  an  un- 
conditional condemnation  of  '  Black  Republicanism'  as  the 
first  thing  to  be  attended  to.     Indeed,  such  condemnation  ot 


48  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Ilis  Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.  An  Appeal  to  the  South. 

US  seems  to  be  an  indispensable  prerequisite — license,  so  to 
speak — among  you  to  be  admitted  or  permitted  to  speak  at 
all. 

"  Now  can  you,  or  not,  be  prevailed  upon  to  pause  and  to 
consider  whether  this  is  quite  just  to  us,  or  even  to  your- 
selves ? 

"  Bring  forward  your  charges  and  specifications,  and  then 
be  patient  long  enough  to  hear  us  deny  or  justify. 

"  You  say  we  are  sectional.  We  deny  it.  That  makes  an 
issue  ;  and  the  burden  of  proof  is  upon  you.  You  produce 
your  proof ;  and  what  is  it  ?  Why,  that  our  party  has  no 
existence  in  your  section — gets  no  votes  in  your  section. 
The  fact  is  substantially  true  ;  but  does  it  prove  the  issue  ? 
If  it  does,  then,  in  case  we  should,  without  change  of  princi- 
ple, begin  to  get  votes  in  your  section,  we  should  thereby 
cease  to  be  sectional.  You  cannot  escape  this  conclusion  ; 
and  yet,  are  you  willing  to  abide  by  it  ?  If  you  are,  you  will 
probably  soon  find  that  we  have  ceased  to  be  sectional,  for  we 
shall  get  votes  in  your  section  this  very  year.  You  will  then 
begin  to  discover,  as  the  truth  plainly  is,  that  your  proof 
does  not  touch  the  issue.  The  fact  that  we  get  no  votes  in 
your  section  is  a  fact  of  your  making,  and  not  of  ours.  And 
if  there  be  fault  in  that  fact,  that  fault  is  primarily  yours,  and 
remains  so  until  you  show  that  we  repel  you  by  some  wrong 
principle  or  practice.  If  we  do  repel  you  by  any  wrong 
principle  or  practice,  the  fault  is  ours ;  but  this  brings  us  to 
where  you  ought  to  have  started — to  a  discussion  of  the  right 
or  wrong  of  our  principle.  If  our  principle,  put  in  practice, 
would  wrong  your  section  for  the  benefit  of  ours,  or  for  any 
other  object,  then  our  principle,  and  we  with  it,  are  sectional, 
and  are  justly  opposed  and  denounced  as  such.  Meet  us, 
then,  on  the  question  of  whether  our  principle,  put  in  practice, 
would  wrong  your  section  ;  ari  so  meet  it  as  if  it  were  possi- 
ble that  something  may  be  said  on  our  side.  Do  you  accept 
the  challenge  ?      No  ?      Then  you  really  believe   that  the 


BEFOKE    THE  NATION.  49 

His  Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.        Washington's  Warning.        Conservatism  Defined. 

principle  which  our  fathers,  who  framed  the  government  under 
which  we  live,  thought  so  clearly  right  as  to  adopt  it,  and 
indorse  it  again  and  again  upon  their  official  oaths,  is,  in  fact, 
so  clearly  wrong  as  to  demand  your  condemnation  without  a 
moment's  consideration. 

"  Some  of  you  delight  to  flaunt  in  our  faces  the  warning 
against  sectional  parties  given  by  Washington  in  his  Farewell 
Address.  Less  than  eight  years  before  Washington  gave  that 
warning,  he  had,  as  President  of  the  United  States,  approved 
and  signed  an  act  of  Congress  enforcing  the  prohibition  of 
slavery  in  the  Northwestern  Territory,  which  act  embodied 
the  policy  of  the  government  upon  that  subject,  up  to  and  at 
the  very  moment  he  penned  that  warning ;  and  about  one 
year  after  he  penned  it  he  wrote  Lafayette  that  he  considered 
that  prohibition  a  wise  measure,  expressing,  in  the  same  con- 
nection, his  hope  that  we  should  some  time  have  a  confederacy 
of  free  States. 

"  Bearing  this  in  mind,  and  seeing  that  sectionalism  has 
since  arisen  upon  this  same  subject,  is  that  warning  a  weapon 
in  your  hands  against  us,  or  in  our  hands  against  you  ? 
Could  Washington  himself  speak,  would  he  cast  the  blame  of 
that  sectionalism  upon  us,  who  sustain  his  policy,  or  upon 
you,  who  repudiate  it  ?  We  respect  that  warning  of  Wash- 
ington, and  we  commend  it  to  you,  together  with  his  example 
pointing  to  the  right  application  of  it. 

"  But  you  say  you  are  conservative — eminently  conserva- 
tive— while  we  are  revolutionary,  destructive,  or  something 
of  the  sort.  What  is  conservatism  ?  Is  it  not  adherence  to 
the  old  and  tried  against  the  new  and  untried  ?  We  stick  to, 
contend  for,  the  identical  old  policy  on  the  point  in  contro- 
versy which  was  adopted  by  our  fathers  who  framed  the 
government  under  which  we  live ;  while  you,  with  one 
accord,  reject,  and  scout,  and  spit  upon  that  old  policy,  and 
insist  upon  substituting  something  new.  True,  you  disagree 
among  yourselves  as  to  what  that  substitute  shall  be.  You 
•4 


50  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LIXCOLX, 

His  Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.        An  Appeal  to  the  South.  John  Hl-own. 

have  considerable  variety  of  new  propositions  and  plans,  but 
you  are  unanimous  in  rejecting  and  denouncing  the  old  policy 
of  the  fathers.  Some  of  you  are  for  reviving  the  foreign 
slave-trade  ;  some  for  a  Congressional  Slave-Code  for  the 
Territories ;  some  for  Congress  forbidding  the  Territories  to 
prohibit  slavery  within  their  limits  ;  some  for  maintaining 
slavery  in  the  Territories  through  the  Judiciary ;  some  for 
the  'gur-reat  pur-rinciple'  that,  'if  one  man  would  enslave 
another,  no  third  man  should  object,'  fantastically  called 
'  Popular  Sovereignty  ;'  but  never  a  man  among  you  in  favor 
of  Federal  prohibition  of  slavery  in  Federal  Territories, 
according  to  the  practice  of  our  fathers  who  framed  the 
government  under  which  we  live.  Not  one  of  all  your  various 
plans  can  show  a  precedent  or  an  advocate  in  the  century 
within  which  our  government  originated.  Consider,  then, 
whether  your  claim  of  conservatism  for  yourselves,  and  your 
charge  of  destructivenesss  against  us,  are  based  on  the  most 
clear  and  stable  foundations. 

"Again,  you  say  we  have  made  the  slavery  question  more 
prominent  than  it  formerly  was.  We  deny  it.  We  admit 
that  it  is  more  prominent,  but  we  deny  that  we  made  it  so. 
It  was  not  we,  but  you,  who  discarded  the  old  policy  of  the 
fathers.  We  resisted,  and  still  resist,  your  innovation ;  and 
thence  comes  the  greater  prominence  of  the  question.  Would 
you  have  that  question  reduced  to  its  former  proportions  ? 
Go  back  to  that  old  policy.  What  has  been  will  be  again, 
under  the  same  conditions.  If  you  would  have  the  peace  of 
the  old  times,  re-adopt  the  precepts  and  policy  of  the  old 
times. 

"  You  charge  that  we  stir  up  insurrections  among  your 
slaves.  We  deny  it.  And  what  is  your  proof?  Harper's 
Ferry  1  John  Brown  !  John  Brown  was  no  Republican  ; 
and  you  have  failed  to  implicate  a  single  Republican  in  his 
Harper's  Ferry  enterprise.  If  any  member  of  our  party  is 
guilty  in  that  matter,  you  know  it,  or  you  do  not  know  it. 


BEFOEE   THE   NATION.  51 


His  Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.  The  Harper's  Ferry  Affai"-. 

If  you  do  know  it,  you  are  inexcusable  to  not  designate  the 
man,  and  prove  the  fact.  If  you  do  not  know  it,  you  are 
inexcusable  to  assert  it,  and  especially  to  persist  in  the  asser- 
tion after  you  have  tried  and  failed  to  make  the  proof  You 
need  not  be  told  that  persisting  in  a  charge  which  one  does 
not  know  to  be  true  is  simply  malicious  slander. 

"  Some  of  you  admit  that  no  Republican  designedly  aided 
or  encouraged  the  Harper's  Ferry  affair ;  but  still  insist  that 
our  doctrines  and  declarations  necessarily  lead  to  such  results. 
We  do  not  believe  it.  We  know  we  hold  to  no  doctrine,  and 
make  no  declarations  which  were  not  held  to  and  made  by 
our  fathers  who  framed  the  government  under  which  we  live. 
You  never  deal  fairly  by  us  in  relation  to  this  affair.  When 
it  occurred,  some  important  State  elections  were  near  at 
band,  and  you  were  in  evident  glee  with  the  belief  that,  by 
charging  the  blame  upon  us,  you  could  get  an  advantage  of 
us  in  those  elections.  The  elections  came,  and  your  expecta- 
tions were  not  quite  fulfilled.  Every  Republican  man  knew 
that,  as  to  himself,  at  least,  your  charge  was  a  slander,  and 
he  was  not  much  inclined  by  it  to  cast  his  vote  in  your  favor. 
Republican  doctrines  and  declarations  are  accompanied  with 
a  continual  protest  against  any  interference  whatever  with 
your  slaves,  or  with  you  about  your  slaves.  Surely,  this 
does  not  encourage  them  to  revolt.  True,  we  do,  in  common 
with  our  fathers,  who  framed  the  government  under  which 
we  live,  declare  our  belief  that  slavery  is  wrong ;  but  the 
slaves  do  not  hear  us  declare  even  this.  For  any  thing  we 
say  or  do,  the  slaves  would  scarcely  know  there  is  a  Repub- 
lican party.  I  believe  they  would  not,  in  fact,  generally  know 
it  but  for  your  misrepresentations  of  us  in  their  hearing.  In 
your  political  contest  among  yourselves,  each  faction  charges 
the  other  with  sympathy  with  Black  Republicanism ;  and 
then,  to  give  point  to  the  charge,  defines  Black  Republican- 
ism to  simply  be  insurrection,  blood  and  thunder  among  the 
slaves. 


52  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

His  Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.        Slave  Insurrections.  The  Gunpowder  Plot. 

"  Slave  insurrections  are  no  more  common  now  than  thej 
were  before  the  Republican  party  was  organized.  What  in- 
duced the  Southampton  insurrection,  twenty-eight  years  ago, 
in  which,  at  least,  three  times  as  many  lives  were  lost  as  at 
Harper's  Ferry  ?  You  can  scarcely  stretch  your  very  elastic 
fancy  to  the  conclusion  that  Southampton  was  got  up  by 
Black  Republicanism.  In  the  present  state  of  things  in  the 
United  States,  I  do  not  think  a  general,  or  even  a  very  exten- 
sive slave  insurrection,  is  possible.  The  indispensable  con- 
cert of  action  cannot  be  attained.  The  slaves  have  no  means 
of  rapid  communication  ;  nor  can  incendiary  free  men,  black 
or  white,  supply  it.  The  explosive  materials  are  everywhere 
in  parcels ;  but  there  neither  are,  nor  can  be  supplied,  the 
indispensable  connecting  trains. 

"  Much  is  said  by  southern  people  about  the  affection  of 
slaves  for  their  masters  and  mistresses ;  and  a  part  of  it,  at 
least,  is  true.  A  plot  for  an  uprising  could  scarcely  be  de- 
vised and  communicated  to  twenty  individuals  before  some 
one  of  them,  to  save  the  life  of  a  favorite  master  or  mistress, 
would  divulge  it.  This  is  the  rule  ;  and  the  slave  revolution 
in  Hayti  was  not  an  exception  to  it,  but  a  case  occurring 
under  peculiar  circumstances.  The  gunpowder  plot  of  British 
history,  though  not  connected  with  the  slaves,  was  more  in 
point.  In  that  case,  only  about  twenty  were  admitted  to  the 
secret ;  and  yet  one  of  them,  in  his  anxiety  to  save  a  friend, 
betrayed  the  plot  to  that  friend,  and,  by  consequence,  averted 
the  calamity.  Occasional  poisoning  from  the  kitchen,  and 
open  or  stealthy  assassinations  in  the  field,  and  local  revolts 
extending  to  a  score  or  so,  will  continue  to  occur  as  the  natu- 
ral results  of  slavery  ;  but  no  general  insurrection  of  slaves, 
as  I  think,  can  happen  in  this  country  for  a  long  time.  Who- 
ever much  fears,  or  much  hopes,  for  such  an  event,  will  be 
alike  disappointed. 

"  In  the  language  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  uttered  many  years  ago, 
'  It  is  still  in  our  power  to  direct  the  process  of  emancipation, 


BEFORE    THE    NATIOX.  53 

His  Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.         Jefferson's  Plan.  Fate  of  Assassins. 

and  deportation,  peaceably,  and  in  such  slow  degrees,  as  that 
the  evil  will  wear  off  insensibly ;  and  their  places  be,  pari 
passu,  filled  up  by  free  white  laborers.  If,  on  the  contrary, 
it  is  left  to  force  itself  on,  human  nature  must  shudder  at  the 
prospect  held  up.' 

"  Mr.  Jefferson  did  not  mean  to  say,  nor  do  I,  that  the 
power  of  emancipation  is  in  the  Federal  Government.  He 
spoke  of  Virginia ;  and,  as  to  the  power  of  emancipation,  1 
speak  of  the  slaveholding  States  only. 

"  The  Federal  Government,  however,  as  we  insist,  has  the 
power  of  restraining  the  extension  of  the  institution — the  power 
to  insure  that  a  slave  insurrection  shall  never  occur  on  any 
American  soil  which  is  now  free  from  slavery. 

"John  Brown's  effort  was  peculiar.  It  was  not  a  slave 
insurrection.  It  was  an  attempt  by  white  men  to  get  up  a 
revolt  among  slaves,  in  which  the  slaves  refused  to  partici- 
pate. In  fact,  it  was  so  absurd  that  the  slaves,  with  all  their 
ignorance,  saw  plainly  enough  it  could  not  succeed.  That 
affair,  in  its  philosophy,  corresponds  with  the  many  attempts, 
related  in  history,  at  the  assassination  of  kings  and  emperors. 
An  enthusiast  broods  over  the  oppression  of  a  people  till  he 
fancies  himself  commissioned  by  Heaven  to  liberate  them. 
He  ventures  the  attempt,  which  ends  in  little  else  than  in  his 
own  execution.  Orsini's  attempt  on  Louis  Napoleon,  and 
John  Brown's  attempt  at  Harper's  Ferry  were,  in  their  phi- 
losophy, precisely  the  same.  The  eagerness  to  cast  blame 
on  old  England  in  the  one  case,  and  on  New  England  in  the 
other,  does  not  disprove  the  sameness  of  the  two  things. 

"  And  how  much  would  it  avail  you,  if  you  could,  by  the 
use  of  John  Brown,  Helper's  book,  and  the  like,  break  up  the 
Republican  organization  ?  Human  action  can  be  modified  to 
some  extent,  but  human  nature  cannot  be  changed.  There 
is  a  judgment  and  a  feeling  against  slavery  in  this  nation, 
which  cast  at  least  a  million  and  a  half  of  votes.  You  can- 
not destroy  that  judgment  and  feeling — that  sentiment — by 


5i LIFE    OF   ABEAHAM   LINCOLN. 

His  Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.  The  "rule  or  ruin"  Policy. 

breaking  up  the  political  organization  which  rallies  around 
it.  You  can  scarcely  scatter  and  disperse  an  army  which 
has  been  formed  into  order  in  the  face  of  your  heaviest  fire ; 
but  if  you  could,  how  much  would  you  gain  by  forcing  the 
sentiment  which  created  it  out  of  the  peaceful  channel  of  the 
ballot-box,  into  some  other  channel  ?  What  would  that  other 
channel  probably  be  ?  Would  the  number  of  John  Browns 
be  lessened  or  enlarged  by  the  operation  ? 

"  But  you  will  break  up  the  Union  rather  than  submit  to  a 
denial  of  your  Constitutional  rights. 

"  That  has  a  somewhat  reckless  sound ;  but  it  would  be 
palliated,  if  not  fully  justified,  were  we  proposing  by  the  mere 
force  of  numbers,  to  deprive  you  of  some  right  plainly  written 
down  in  the  Constitution.    But  we  are  proposing  no  such  thing. 

"  When  you  make  these  declarations,  you  have  a  specific 
and  well-understood  allusion  to  an  assumed  Constitutional 
right  of  yours,  to  take  slaves  into  the  federal  territories,  and 
bold  them  there  as  property,  but  no  such  right  is  specifically 
written  in  the  Constitution.  That  instrument  is  literally  silent 
about  any  such  right.  We,  on  the  contrary,  deny  that  such 
a  right  has  any  existence  in  the  Constitution,  even  by  impli- 
cation. 

"Your  purpose,  then,  plainly  stated,  is,  that  you  will 
destroy  the  Government,  unless  you  be  allowed  to  construe 
and  enforce  the  Constitution  as  you  please,  on  all  points  in 
dispute  between  you  and  us.  You  will  rule  or  ruin  in  all 
events. 

'"I'his,  plainly  stated,  is  your  language  to  us.  Perhaps 
you  will  say  the  Supreme  Court  has  decided  the  disputed 
Constitutional  question  in  your  favor.  Not  quite  so.  But 
waiving  the  lawyer's  distinction  between  dictum  and  decision, 
the  Courts  have  decided  the  question  for  you  in  a  sort  of 
way.  The  Courts  have  substantially  said,  it  is  your  Consti- 
tutional right  to  take  slaves  into  the  Federal  Territories,  and 
to  hold  them  there  as  property. 


BEFORE    THE   NATIOIST.  55 

Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.  Right  of  Pi'operty  in  Slaves. 

"  When  I  say  the  decision  was  made  in  a  sort  of  way,  I 
mean  it  was  made  in  a  divided  Court  by  a  bare  majority  of 
the  Judges,  and  they  not  quite  agreeing  with  one  another  in 
the  reasons  for  making  it ;  that  it  is  so  made  as  that  its 
avowed  supporters  disagree  with  one  another  about  its  mean- 
ing, and  that  it  was  mainly  based  upon  a  mistaken  statement 
of  fact — the  statement  in  the  opinion  that  'the  right  of 
property  in  a  slave  is  distinctly  and  expressly  affirmed  in  the 
Constitution.' 

"An  inspection  of  the  Constitution  will  show  that  the  right 
of  property  in  a  slave  is  not  distinctly  and  expressly  affirmed 
in  it.  Bear  in  mind  the  Judges  do  not  pledge  their  judicial 
opinion  that  such  right  is  impliedly  affirmed  in  the  Constitu- 
tion ;  but  they  pledge  their  veracity  that  it  is  distinctly  and 
expressly  affirmed  there — 'distinctly'  that  is,  not  mingled 
with  any  thing  else — '  expressly'  that  is,  in  words  meaning 
just  that,  without  the  aid  of  any  inference,  and  susceptible  of 
no  other  meaning. 

"  If  they  had  only  pledged  their  judicial  opinion  that  such 
right  is  affirmed  in  the  instrument  by  implication,  it  would 
be  open  to  others  to  show  that  neither  the  word  'slave'  nor 
'slavery' is  to  be  found  in  the  Constitution,  nor  the  word 
'  property'  even,  in  any  connection  with  language  alluding  to 
the  things  slave,  or  slavery,  and  that  wherever  in  that  instru- 
ment the  slave  is  alluded  to,  he  is  called  a 'person;'  and 
wherever  hi&  master's  legal  right  in  relation  to  him  is  alluded 
to,  it  is  spoken  of  as  'service  or  labor  due,'  as  a  '  debt'  paya- 
ble in  service  or  labor.  Also,  it  would  be  open  to  show,  by 
contemporaneous  history,  that  this  mode  of  alluding  to  slaves 
and  slavery,  instead  of  speaking  of  them,  was  employed  on 
purpose  to  exclude  from  the  Constitution  the  idea  that  there 
could  be  property  in  man. 

"  To  show  all  this  is  easy  and  certain. 

"  When  this  obvious  mistake  of  the  Judges  shall  be  brought 
to  their  notice,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  expect  that  they  will 


56  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.  False  reasoning  of  the  Slave  Power. 

withdraw  the  mistaken  statement,  and  reconsider  the  conclu- 
sion based  upon  it? 

"And  then  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  '  our  fathers,  who 
framed  the  Government  under  which  we  live' — the  men  who 
made  the  Constitution — decided  this  same  Constitutional 
question  in  our  favor,  long  ago — decided  it  without  a  division 
among  themselves,  when  making  the  decision  ;  without  divi- 
sion among  themselves  about  the  meaning  of  it  after  it  was 
made,  and  so  far  as  any  evidence  is  left,  without  basing  it 
upon  any  mistaken  statement  of  facts. 

"  Under  all  these  circumstances,  do  you  really  feel  your- 
selves justified  to  break  up  this  Government,  unless  such  a 
court  decision  as^jours  is  shall  be  at  once  submitted  to,  as  a 
conclusive  and  final  rule  of  political  action. 

"  But  you  will  not  abide  the  election  of  a  Republican  Presi- 
dent. In  that  supposed  event,  you  say,  you  will  destroy  the 
Union  ;  and  then,  you  say,  the  great  crime  of  having  destroyed 
it  will  be  upon  us! 

"  That  is  cool.  A  highwayman  holds  a  pistol  to  my  ear, 
and  mutters  through  his  teeth,  '  stand  and  deliver,  or  I  shall 
kill  you,  and  then  you  will  be  a  murderer  !' 

"  To  be  sure,  what  the  robber  demanded  of  me — my  money 
— was  my  own ;  and  I  had  a  clear  right  to  keep  it ;  but  it 
was  no  more  my  own  than  my  vote  is  my  own ;  and  threat 
of  death  to  me,  to  extort  my  money,  and  threat  of  destruction 
to  the  Union,  to  extort  my  vote,  can  scarcely  be  distinguished 
in  principle. 

"A  few  word^  now  to  Republicans.  It  is  exceedingly 
desirable  that  all  parts  of  this  great  Confederacy  shall  be  at 
peace,  and  in  harmony,  one  with  another.  Let  us  Republi- 
cans do  our  part  to  have  it  so.  Even  though  much  provoked, 
let  us  do  nothing  through  passion  and  ill-temper.  Even 
though  the  southern  people  will  not  so  much  as  listen 
to  us,  let  us  calmly  consider  their  demands,  and  yield  to  them 
if,   in   our   deliberate  view  of  our  duty,  we  possibly  can. 


BEFORE   THE   NATION.  67 

Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.        Invasion  and  Insurrections.  Conciliation. 

Judging  by  all  they  say  and  do,  and  by  the  subject  and 
nature  of  their  controversy  with  us,  let  us  determine,  if  we 
can,  what  will  satisfy  them  ? 

"  Will  they  be  satisfied  if  the  Territories  be  unconditionally 
surrendered  to  them  ?  "We  know  they  will  not.  In  all  their 
present  complaints  against  us,  the  Territories  are  scarcely 
mentioned.  Invasions  and  insurrections  are  the  rage  now. 
Will  it  satisfy  them  if,  in  the  future,  we  have  nothing  to  do 
with  invasions  and  insurrections  ?  We  know  it  will  not. 
We  so  know  because  we  know  we  never  had  any  thing  to  do 
with  invasions  and  insurrections  ;  and  yet  this  total  abstaining 
does  not  exempt  us  from  the  charge  and  the  denunciation. 

"  The  question  recurs,  what  will  satisfy  them  ?  Simply 
this :  We  must  not  only  let  them  alone,  but  we  must,  some- 
how, convince  them  that  we  do  let  them  alone.  This  we 
know  by  experience,  is  no  easy  task.  We  have  been  so  trying 
to  convince  them  from  the  very  beginning  of  our  organization, 
but  with  no  success.  In  all  our  platforms  and  speeches  we 
have  constantly  protested  our  purpose  to  let  them  alone  ;  but 
this  has  had  no  tendency  to  convince  them.  Alike  unavailing 
to  convince  them  is  the  fact  that  they  have  never  detected  a 
man  of  us  in  any  attempt  to  disturb  them. 

"  These  natural,  and  apparently  adequate  means  all  failing, 
what  will  convince  them  ?  This,  and  this  only  :  cease  to  call 
slavery  wrong,  and  join  them  in  calling  it  right.  And  this 
must  be  done  thoroughly — done  in  acts  as  well  as  in  words. 
Silence  will  not  be  tolerated — we  must  place  ourselves 
avowedly  with  them.  Douglas's  new  sedition  law  must  be 
enacted  and  enforced,  suppressing  all  declarations  that 
slavery  is  wrong,  whether  made  in  politics,  in  presses,  in 
pulpits,  or  in  private.  We  must  arrest  and  return  their  fu- 
gitive slaves  with  greedy  pleasure.  We  must  pull  down  our 
Free- State  Constitutions.  The  whole  atmosphere  must  be 
disinfected  from  all  taint  of  opposition  to  slavery,  before  they 
will  cease  to  believe  that  all  their  troubles  proc*ia^d  from  us. 


58 


LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOL^r. 


Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.        Southern  Demands. 


The  Whole  Controversy. 


"  I  am  quite  aware  they  do  not  state  their  case  precisely 
in  this  way.  Most  of  them  would  probably  say  to  us,  '  Iiet 
us  alone,  do  nothing  to  us,  and  say  what  you  please  about 
slavery.'  But  we  do  let  them  alone — have  never  disturbed 
them — so  that,  after  all,  it  is  what  we  say  which  dissatisfies 
them.  They  will  continue  to  accuse  us  of  doing,  until  we 
cease  saying. 

"I  am  also  aware  they  have  not,  as  yet,  in  terms,  de- 
manded the  overthrow  of  our  Free-State  Constitutions.  Yet 
those  Constitutions  declare  the  wrong  of  slavery,  with  more 
solemn  emphasis  than  do  all  other  sayings  against  it ;  and 
when  all  these  other  sayings  shall  have  been  silenced,  the 
overthrow  of  these  Constitutions  will  be  demanded,  and 
nothing  be  left  to  resist  the  demand.  It  is  nothing  to  the 
contrary,  that  they  do  not  demand  the  whole  of  this  just  now. 
Demanding  what  they  do,  and  for  the  reason  they  do,  they 
can  voluntarily  stop  nowhere  short  of  this  consummation. 
Holding,  as  they  do,  that  slavery  is  morally  right,  and  socially 
elevating,  they  cannot  cease  to  demand  a  full  national  recog- 
nition of  it,  as  a  legal  right  and  a  social  blessing. 

"  Nor  can  we  justifiably  withhold  this,  on  any  ground  save 
our  conviction  that  slavery  is  wrong.  If  slavery  is  right,  all 
words,  acts,  laws,  and  constitutions  against  it,  are  themselves 
wrong,  and  should  be  silenced  and  swept  away.  If  it  is 
right,  we  cannot  justly  object  to  its  nationality — its  uni- 
versality ;  if  it  is  wrong,  they  cannot  justly  insist  upon  its 
extension — its  enlargement.  All  they  ask,  we  could  readily 
grant,  if  we  thought  slavery  right ;  all  we  ask,  they  could 
as  readily  grant,  if  they  thought  it  wrong.  Their  thinking 
it  right,  and  our  thinking  it  wrong,  is  the  precise  fact  upon 
which  depends  the  whole  controversy.  Thinking  it  right,  as 
they  do,  they  are  not  to  blame  for  desiring  its  full  recognition, 
as  being  right ;  but,  thinking  it  wrong,  as  we  do,  can  we 
yield  to  them  ?  Can  we  cast  our  votes  with  their  view,  and 
against  our  own  ?  In  view  of  our  moral,  social,  and  politi- 
cal responsibilities,  can  we  do  this  ? 


IN    CONGRESS   AND   ON   THE   STUMP. 


59 


Speech  at  the  Cooper  Institute.        Right  makes  Might. 


Pleasing  Incident. 


"  Wrong  as  we  think  slavery  is,  we  can  yet  afford  to  let  it 
alone  where  it  is,  because  that  much  is  due  to  the  necessity 
arising  from  its  actual  presence  in  the  nation  ;  but  can  we, 
while  our  votes  will  prevent  it,  allow  it  to  spread  into  the 
National  Territories,  and  to  overrun  us  here  in  these  Free 
States  ? 

"  If  our  sense  of  duty  forbids  this,  then  let  us  stand  by  our 
duty,  fearlessly  and  effectively.  Let  us  be  divei'ted  by  none 
of  those  sophistical  contrivances  wherewith  we  are  so  indus- 
triously plied  and  belabored — contrivances  such  as  groping 
for  some  middle  ground  between  the  right  and  the  wrong, 
vain  as  the  search  for  a  man  who  should  be  neither  a  living: 
man  nor  a  dead  man — such  as  a  policy  of  '  dont  care'  on  a 
question  about  which  all  true  men  do  care — such  as  Union 
appeals  beseeching  true  Union  men  to  yield  to  Disunionists, 
reversing  the  Divine  rule,  and  calling,  not  the  sinners,  but 
the  righteous  to  repentance — such  as  invocations  to  Washing- 
ton, imploring  men  to  unsay  what  Washington  said,  and  undo 
what  Washington  did. 

"  Neither  let  us  be  slandered  from  our  duty  by  false  accu- 
sations against  us,  not  frightened  from  it  by  menaces  of 
destruction  to  the  Government,  nor  of  dungeons  to  ourselves. 
Let  us  have  faith  that  right  makes  might,  and  in  that  faith, 
let  us,  to  the  end,  dare  to  do  our  duty  as  we  understand  it.'' 

It  was  during  this  visit  to  New  York  that  the  following 
incident  occurred,  as  related  by  a  teacher  in  the  Five-Points 
House  of  Industry,  in  that  city  : 

"  Our  Sunday-school  in  the  Five-Points  was  assembled, 
one  Sabbath  morning,  a  few  months  since,  when  I  noticed  a 
tall  and  remarkable-looking  man  enter  the  room  and  take  a 
seat  among  us.  He  listened  with  fixed  attention  to  our  ex- 
ercises, and  his  countenance  manifested  such  genuine  interest 
that  I  approached  him  and  suggested  that  he  might  be  willing 
to  say  something  to  the  children.     He  accepted  the  invita- 


60  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Visits  a  Suuday-school.  Address.  Republican  National  Convention. 

tion  with  evident  pleasure,  and,  coming  forward,  began  a 
simple  address,  which  at  once  fascinated  every  little  hearer, 
and  hushed  the  room  into  silence.  His  language  was 
strikingly  beautiful,  and  his  tones  musical  with  intensest 
feeling.  The  little  faces  around  would  droop  into  sad  con- 
viction as  he  uttered  sentences  of  warning,  and  would  brighten 
into  sunshine  as  he  spoke  cheerful  words  of  promise.  Once 
or  twice  he  attempted  to  close  his  remarks,  but  the  imperative 
shout  of  '  Go  on  !'  '  Oh,  do  go  on  !'  would  compel  him  to  re- 
sume. As  I  looked  upon  the  gaunt  and  sinewy  frame  of  the 
stranger,  and  marked  his  powerful  head  and  determined 
features,  now  touched  into  softness  by  the  impressions  of  the 
moment,  I  felt  an  irrepressible  curiosity  to  learn  something 
more  about  him,  and  when  he  was  quietly  leaving  the  room 
I  begged  to  know  his  name.  He  courteously  replied,  'It  is 
Abra'm  Lincoln,  from  Illinois  !" 


CHAPTER  lY. 


NOMINATED   AND   ELECTED   PRESIDENT. 

The  Republican  National  Convention — Democratic  Convention — Constitutional  Union 
Convention — Ballotings  at  Chicago— The  Result — Enthusiastic  Reception — Visit  to 
Springfield— Address  and  Letter  of  Acceptance — The  Campaign — Result  of  the  Election 
— South  Carolina's  Movements— Buchanan's  pusillanimity — Secession  of  states — Con- 
federate Constitution — Peace  Convention — Constitutional  Amendments — Terms  of  the 
Rebels. 

On  the  16th  of  May,  1860,  the  Republican  National  Con- 
vention met  at  Chicago,  to  present  candidates  for  the  Presi- 
dency and  Yice-Presidency,  The  Democratic  Convention 
had  previously  adjourned,  tifter  a  stormy  session  of  some  two 
weeks,  at  which  it  was  apparent  that,  if  Mr.  Douglas's  friends 
persisted  in  placing  him  in  nomination,  another  candidate 
would  be  presented  by  the  wing  opposed  to  bis  peculiar  views 


NOMINATED   AND   ELECTED   PRESIDENT.  61 

Republican  National  Convention.  The  Ballot.  Mr.  Lincoln  Nominated. 

on  the  slavery  question,  and  the  great  party  would  thus  be 
disrupted.  Another  convention,  claiming  to  represent,  in  a 
peculiarly  individual  manner,  the  party  in  favor  of  the  Con- 
stitution and  the  Union,  had  met  at  Baltimore  and  put  in 
nomination  John  Bell,  of  Tennessee,  and  Edward  Everett,  of 
Massachusetts. 

The  aspect  seemed  favorable  for  the  election  of  the  Repub- 
lican candidates,  and  that  convention,  on  the  morning  of  the 
18th  of  May — one  day  having  been  spent  in  organizing  and 
another  in  the  adoption  of  a  platform  of  principles — amid  the 
intense  excitement  of  the  twelve  thousand  people  inside  of 
the  "  Wigwam"  (as  the  building  was  styled  in  which  the  body 
was  in  session),  voted  to  proceed  at  once  to  ballot  for  a  candi- 
date for  President  of  the  United  States. 

Seven  names  were  formally  presented  in  the  following  order : 
William  H  Seward,  of  New  York  ;  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illi- 
nois ;  William  L.  Dayton,  of  New  Jersey ;  Simon  Cameron, 
of  Pennsylvania ;  Salmon  P.  Chase,  of  Ohio  ;  Edward  Bates, 
of  Missouri ;  and  John  McLean,  of  Ohio. 

On  the  first  ballot  Mr.  Seward  received  113  votes,  Mr. 
Lincoln  102,  Mr.  Cameron  50,  Mr.  Chase  49,  Mr.  Bates  48, 
Mr.  Dayton  14,  Mr.  McLean  12,  and  there  were  16  votes 
scattered  among  candidates  not  put  in  nomination.  For  a 
choice,  233  votes  were  requii-ed. 

On  the  second  ballot  (Mr.  Cameron's  name  having  been 
withdrawn)  the  vote  for  the  several  candidates  was  as  follows  : 
Mr.  Seward  184,  Mr.  Lincoln  181,  Mr.  Chase  42,  Mr.  Bates 
35,  Mr.  Dayton  10,  Mr.  McLean  8,  scattering  4. 

The  third  ballot  was  immediately  taken,  and,  when  the  call 
of  the  roll  was  ended,  the  footings  were  as  follows  :  For  Mr. 
Lincoln  231,  Mr.  Seward  180,  Mr.  Chase  24,  Mr.  Bates,  22, 
all  others  1.  Immediately  before  the  result  was  announced, 
four  Ohio  delegates  changed  their  votes  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  giv- 
ing him  a  majority. 

The  scene  which  followed — the  wild,  almost  delirious  out 


62  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Wild  Applause.  The  Committee.  The  Response. 

burst  of  applause  within  and  without  the  building,  the  con- 
gratulations, the  hand-shakings,  the  various  manifestations  of 
joy,  continued  with  scarcely  any  interruption  for  some  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour — was  probably  never  before  witnessed 
in  a  popular  assembly. 

The  nomination  having  been  made  unanimous,  the  ticket 
was  completed  by  the  selection  of  Senator  Hannibal  Hamlin, 
of  Maine,  as  Vice-President, 

The  country  then  felt  that  the  right  man  had  for  once 
been  put  in  the  right  place.  As  a  man  of  the  people,  in  cor- 
dial sympathy  with  the  masses,  Mr.  Lincoln  enjoyed  the 
unhesitating  confidence  of  the  sincere  friends  of  free  labor, 
regardless  of  party  distinctions.  His  tried  integrity  and  in- 
corruptible honesty  gave  promise  of  a  return  to  the  better 
days  of  the  republic.  Every  man,  laboring  for  the  advance- 
ment of  his  fellow,  knew  that  in  him  humanity,  irrespective 
of  race  or  condition,  had  a  tried  and  trusty  friend. 

The  committee,  appointed  to  apprise  him  of  his  nomination, 
found  him  at  his  home,  in  Springfield,  a  frame  two-storied 
house,  apparently  about  thirty-five  or  forty  feet  square,  stand- 
ing at  the  corner  of  two  streets.  After  entering  the  parlor, 
which  was  very  plainly  furnished,  though  in  good  taste,  a 
brief  address  was  made  by  the  chairman  of  the  convention, 
upon  the  utterance  of  the  first  sentence  of  which  a  smile  played 
round  Mr.  Lincoln's  large,  firm-set  mouth,  his  eyes  lit  up, 
and  his  face  conveyed  to  those  who  then  for  the  first  time 
met  him,  an  impression  of  that  sincere,  loving  nature  which 
those  who  had  known  him  long  and  well  had  learned  in  some 
measure  to  comprehend  and  revere. 

In  response  to  this  address,  Mr.  Lincoln  said  : 

"  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Committee  :  I 
tender  to  you,  and  through  you  to  the  Republican  IS'ational 
Convention,  and  all  the  people  represented  in  it,  my  pro- 
foundest  thanks  for  the  high  honor  done  me,  which  you  now 


NOMINATED   AXD   ELECTED   PRESIDENT.  63 

The  Response.  The  Nomination  Accepted.  Platform  Approved 

formally  announce.  Deeply,  and  even  painfully  sensible  of 
the  great  responsibility  which  is  inseparable  from  this  high 
honor — a  responsibility  which  I  could  almost  wish  had  fallen 
upon  some  one  of  the  far  more  eminent  men  and  experienced 
statesmen  whose  distinguished  names  were  before  the  Con- 
vention, I  shall,  by  your  leave,  consider  more  fully  the  resolu- 
tions of  the  Convention,  denominated  the  platform,  and  with- 
out unnecessary  and  unreasonable  delay,  respond  to  you,  Mr. 
Chairman,  in  writing,  not  doubting  that  the  platform  will  be 
found  satisfactory,  and  the  nomination  gratefully  accepted. 
And  now  I  will  not  longer  defer  the  pleasure  of  taking  you, 
and  each  of  you,  by  the  hand." 

In  reply  to  the  formal  letter  of  the  President  of  the  Con- 
vention, apprising  him  of  the  nomination,  Mr.  Lincoln  ad- 
dressed the  following  : 

"  Springfield,  Illinois,  May  23d,  1860. 
"  Hon.  George  Ashman,  President  of  the  Republican  Na- 
tional Convention. 
"  Sir  :  I  accept  the  nomination  tendered  me  by  the  Con- 
vention over  which  you  presided,  and  of  which  I  am  formally 
apprised  in  the  letter  of  yourself  and  others,  acting  as  a  Com- 
mittee of  the  Convention  for  that  purpose. 

"  The  declaration  of  principles  and  sentiments,  which  ac- 
companies your  letter,  meets  my  approval ;  and  it  shall  be 
my  care  not  to  violate,  or  disregard  it,  in  any  pai't. 

"  Imploring  the  assistance  of  Divine  Providence,  and  with 
due  regard  to  the  views  and  feelings  of  all  who  were  repre- 
sented in  the  Convention ;  to  the  rights  of  all  the  States  and 
Territories,  and  people  of  the  nation  ;  to  the  inviolability  of 
the  Constitution,  and  the  perpetual  union,  harmony  and  pros- 
perity of  all,  I  am  most  happy  to  co-operate  for  the  practical 
success  of  the  principles  declared  by  the  Convention, 
"Your  obliged  friend  and  fellow-citizen, 

"Abraham  Lincoln." 


64  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN". 

Elected  President.  The  Electoral  Vote.  The  coming  Storm. 

The  breach  in  the  Democratic  party,  threatened  at  Charles- 
ton, was  subsequently  effected  by  the  nomination  of  Stephen 
A.  Douglas  and  Herschel  Y.  Johnson,  of  Georgia,  by  one 
wing,  and  of  John  C.  Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky,  and  Joseph 
Lane,  of  Oregon,  by  the  other. 

Although  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was,  under  the  cir 
cumstances,  almost  a  foregone  conclusion,  yet  the  canvass 
which  ensued  was  acrimonious  and  vindictive  in  the  extreme, 
the  choicest  selections  from  the  rank  Billingsgate  vocabularies 
being  lavished  on  the  head  of  Mr.  Linclon  and  his  supporters. 

On  the  6th  of  JS'ovember,  1860,  Mr.  Lincoln  received 
1,866,452  votes,  securing  the  electoral  votes  of  the  States  of 
Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Rhode 
Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  California, 
Oregon,  and  four  votes  of  New  Jersey,  180  in  all ;  Douglas, 
1,375,15*1  votes,  and  the  electoral  votes  of  Missouri,  and  three 
of  New  Jersey,  12  in  all ;  Breckenridge,  847,953,  and  the 
votes  of  Maryland,  Delaware,*  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Arkansas, 
and  Texas,  12  in  all;  and  Bell,  590,631,  and  the  votes  of 
Yirginia,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee,  39  in  all. 

And  now  was  to  be  tested  whether  words  were  to  ripen 
into  deeds — whether  threats  would  be  reduced  to  practice — 
whether,  indeed,  there  were  madness  enough  in  any  State  or 
States  to  attempt  the  life  of  the  republic.  Unfortunately,  a 
short  space  of  time  elapsed  before  all  doubts  were  at  an  end. 
Men  were  to  be  found — not  confined  to  a  single  State,  but 
representatives  of  nearly,  if  not  quite  all — not  to  be  counted 
by  scores  or  hundreds  even,  but  by  thousands,  and  soon  by 
tens  of  thousands — ready  to  lay  their  unhallowed  hands  upon 
the  Union,  the  ark  of  our  nation's  glory  and  strength. 

To  South  Carolina  belongs  the  bold,  bad  eminence  of 
taking  the  initiation  in  this  conspiracy  against  the  interests 
of  humanity.     While  this  State — doomed  forever  after  to  an 


NOMINATED   AND   ELECTED  PEESIDENT.  65 

President  Buchanan's  Pusillanimity.    South  Carolina  Secedes.    Attempta  at  Compromise. 

ignominy  from  which  centuries  of  unquestioned  loyalty  can- 
not free  her — was  taking  the  requisite  steps  toward  secession, 
the  then  President,  James  Buchanan,  with  a  pusillanimity — 
to  use  no  stronger  term — which  modern  history  certainly  has 
never  paralleled,  in  his  annual  message,  after  having  urged 
the  unconstitutionality  of  the  proceeding,  gave  explicit  notifi- 
cation that  he  had  no  constitutional  power  to  prevent  the 
proposed  measures  being  hastened  to  successful  completion. 
Neither,  though  appealed  to,  at  a  still  earlier  day,  by  the 
veteran  chief  of  the  army,  to  occupy  and  hold  the  United 
States  on  the  Southern  coast,  could  he  find  any  warrant  for 
protecting  and  defending  the  national  property. 

Surely  nothing  more  could  the  conspirators  have  desired. 
On  the  20th  of  December,  1860,  South  Carolina  claims  to 
secede  —  Government  forts  and  arsenals  are  seized,  and 
placed  under  the  protection  of  the  flag  of  the  State.  Georgia's 
Governor  lays  hand  on  the  United  States  forts  on  the  coast 
of  that  State,  on  the  3d  of  January,  1861 ;  as  did  the  Execu- 
tive of  Alabama  on  the  following  day. 

Events  of  a  startling  nature  follow  in  rapid  succession. 
On  the  9th  of  January,  hostile  shots  are  fired  upon  a  vessel 
bringing  tardy  reinforcements  to  Fort  Sumter,  and  Mississippi 
assumes  to  put  herself  out  of  the  Union.  Alabama,  Florida, 
and  Georgia  are  not  laggard ;  nor  are  Texas  and  Louisiana 
found  wanting.  Cabinet  officers  from  the  slave  States  either 
resigned,  after  having  aided  the  fell  work  to  their  utmost,  or 
remained  only  to  hasten  its  consummation.  A  new  constitu- 
tion, "temporary"  in  its  nature,  was  declared  by  delegates 
from  the  seven  States  then  in  rebellion,  and  a  President  and 
Vice-President  appointed. 

Meanwhile  a  conveution,  composed  of  delegates  from  most 
of  the  Free  States,  and  from  all  the  border  Slave  States,  was 
striving,  at  Washington,  to  heal  existing  difficulties  by  com- 
promise. Of  its  members  some  were  acting  in  good  faith, 
others  were  using  it  as  a  breakwater  for  the  States  already 
5 


66  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Constitutional  Amendment  Proposed.  Davis  defines  the  Rebel  position. 

in  overt  rebellion.  A  series  of  resolutions,  however,  aiming 
at  peace  on  the  basis  of  a  preserved  Union  was  agreed  to  by 
a  majority,  and  the  body  adjourned  on  the  1st  of  March. 

On  the  11th  of  February,  moreover,  the  National  House  of 
Representatives  unanimously  adopted  a  resolution — shortly 
afterward  concurred  in  by  the  Senate — providing  for  an 
amendment  to  the  Constitution,  forever  prohibiting  any  Con- 
gressional legislation  interfering  with  slavery  in  any  State. 
Some  there  were,  too,  who  were  willing  to  concede  almost 
every  thing  and  surrender  the  long  mooted  question  of  slavery 
in  the  territories  by  the  adoption  of  the  so-called  Crittenden 
resolutions,  which  were  killed  in  cold  blood  by  Southern 
Senators. 

But  no  concession,  short  of  actual  national  degradation, 
would  satisfy  the  recusants.  Jefferson  Davis,  the  head  of  the 
"  Confederacy,"  on  placing  himself  at  the  head  of  the  rebellion, 
at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  February  18th,  modestly  defined 
the  position  of  himself  and  his  co-conspirators  thus : 

"  If  a  just  perception  of  neutral  interest  shall  permit  us 
peaceably  to  pursue  our  separate  political  career,  my  most 
earnest  desire  will  have  been  fulfilled.  But  if  this  be  denied 
us,  and  the  integrity  of  our  territory  and  jurisdiction  be 
assailed,  it  will  but  remain  for  us  with  firm  resolve  to  appeal 
to  arms,  and  invoke  the  blessing  of  Providence  on  a  just 
cause." 

This  was  at  once  clinched  by  a  recommendation  that  "  a 
well-instructed,  disciplined  army,  more  numerous  than  would 
usually  be  required,  on  a  peace  establishment,"  should  be  at 
once  organized  and  put  in  training  for  the  emergency. 


TO  WASHINGTON.  67 


The  Departiire.  Farewell  Remarlcs.  Seeks  Divine  Assistance. 


CHAPTER    y. 

TO   WASHINGTON. 

The  Departure — ^Farewell  Remarks — Speech  at  Toledo — At  Indianapolis — At  Cincinnati — 
At  Columbus — At  Stenbenville — At  Pittsburgh — At  Cleveland — At  Buffalo — At  Albany 
— At  Poughkeepsie — At  New  York — At  Trenton — At  Philadelphia — At  "  Independence 
Hall" — Flag-raising — Speech  at  Harrisburg — Secret  Departure  for  Washington — Com 
ments. 

Thus  matters  stood — the  air  filled  with  mutterings  of  an 
approaching  storm — the  most  filled  with  a  certain  undefina- 
ble  anxiety" — the  hearts  of  many  failing  them  through  fear- 
when,  on  the  morning  of  the  11th  of  February,  1861,  the 
President  elect  with  his  family,  bade  adieu  to  that  prairie 
home  which,  alas !  he  was  never  again  to  see. 

The  large  throng  which  had  assembled  at  the  railway 
station  on  the  occasion  of  his  departure,  he  addressed  in 
words  replete  with  the  pathos  of  every  true  manly  nature  : 

"  My  Friends  : — No  one,  not  in  my  position,  can  appreci- 
ate the  sadness  I  feel  at  this  parting.  To  this  people  I  owe 
all  that  I  am.  Here  I  have  lived  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century ;  here  my  children  were  born,  and  here  one  of  them 
lies  buried.  I  know  not  how  soon  I  shall  see  you  again.  A 
duty  devolves  upon  me  which  is,  perhaps,  greater  than  that 
which  has  devolved  upon  any  other  man  since  the  days  of 
Washington.  He  never  could  have  succeeded  except  for  the 
aid  of  Divine  Providence,  upon  which  he  at  all  times  relied. 
I  feel  that  I  cannot  succeed  without  the  same  Divine  aid 
which  sustained  him ;  and  in  the  same  Almighty  being  I 
place  my  reliance  for  support,  and  I  hope  you,  my  friends,  will 
all  pray  that  I  raay  receive  that  Divine  assistance,  without 
which  I  can  not  succeed,  but  with  which  success  is  certain. 
Again,  I  bid  you  all  an  alfectiouate  farewell." 


68  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN, 

Speech  at  Toledo.  Speech  at  Indianapolis.  "  Coercion"  and  "  Invasion"  Defined. 

Along  the  route,  multitudes  gathered  at  the  stations  to 
greet  him.  At  Toledo,  Ohio,  in  reply  to  repeated  calls,  he 
appeared  on  the  platform  of  the  car  and  said  : 

"  I  am  leaving  you  on  an  errand  of  national  importance, 
attended,  as  you  are  aware,  with  considerable  difficulties. 
Let  us  believe,  as  some  poet  has  expressed  it,  '  Behind  the 
cloud  the  sun  is  shining  still.'  I  bid  you  an  affectionate  fare- 
well" 

At  Indianapolis,  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  in  reply 
to  an  official  address  of  welcome,  he  gave  the  first  direct 
public  intimation  of  his  views  concerning  the  absorbing 
topics  of  the  day,  in  which  homely  sense  and  cheerful 
pleasantry  were  blended  with  a  skill  beyond  the  power  of 
mere  art : 

"  Fellow  Citizens  of  the  State  op  Indiana  : — I  am  here 
to  thank  you  for  this  magnificent  welcome,  and  still  more  for 
the  very  generous  support  given  by  your  State  to  that 
political  cause,  which,  I  think,  is  the  true  and  just  cause  of 
the  whole  country,  and  the  whole  world.  Solomon  says, 
'there  is  a  time  to  keep  silence  ;'  and  when  men  wrangle  by 
the  mouth,  with  no  certainty  that  they  mean  the  same  thing 
while  using  the  same  words,  it  perhaps  were  as  well  if  they 
would  keep  silence. 

"The  words  'coercion'  and  'invasion'  are  much  used  in 
these  days,  and  often  with  some  temper  and  hot  blood.  Let 
us  make  sure,  if  we  can,  that  we  do  not  misunderstand  the 
meaning  of  those  who  use  them.  Let  us  get  the  exact  defi- 
nitions of  these  words,  not  from  dictionaries,  but  from  the 
men  themselves,  who  certainly  deprecate  the  things  they 
would  represent  by  the  use  of  the  words. 

"  What,  then,  is  coercion  ?  What  is  invasion  ?  Would 
the  marching  of  an  army  into  South  Carolina,  without 
the  consent  of  her  people,  and  with  hostile  intent  toward 
them,  be  invasion  ?  I  certainly  think  it  would,  and  it  would 
be  coercion  also,  if  the  South  Carolinians  were   forced   to 


TO   WASHINGTON".  69 


"  Coercion"  and  "  Invasion"  Defined.        The  Rights  of  States.  Cincinnati. 

submit.  But  if  the  United  States  should  merely  hold  and 
retake  its  own  forts  and  other  property,  and  collect  the  duties 
on  foreign  importations,  or  even  withhold  the  mails  from 
places  where  they  were  habitually  violated,  would  any  or  all 
of  these  things  be  invasion  or  coercion  ?  Do  our  professed 
lovers  of  the  Union,  who  spitefully  resolve  that  they  will 
resist  coercion  and  invasion,  understand  that  such  things  as 
these,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  would  be  coercion  or 
invasion  of  a  State  ?  If  so,  their  idea  of  means  to  preserve 
the  object  of  their  great  affection  would  seem  to  be  exceedingly 
thin  and  airy.  If  sick,  the  little  pills  of  the  homeopathist 
would  be  much  too  large  for  it  to  swallow.  In  their  view, 
the  Union,  as  a  family  relation,  would  seem  to  be  no  regular 
marriage,  but  rather  a  sort  of  '  free-love'  arrangement,  to  be 
maintained  on  passional  attraction. 

"  By  the  way,  in  what  consists  the  special  sacredness  of  a 
State  ?  I  speak  not  of  the  position  assigned  to  a  State  in  the 
Union  by  the  Constitution,  for  that  is  a  bond  we  all  recog- 
nize. That  position,  however,  a  State  cannot  carry  out  of 
the  Union  with  it.  I  speak  of  that  assumed  primary  right 
of  a  State  to  rule  all  which  is  less  than  itself,  and  to  ruin  all 
which  is  larger  than  itself.  If  a  State  and  a  County, 
in  a  given  case,  should  be  equal  in  number  of  inhabitants,  in 
what,  as  a  matter  of  principle,  is  the  State  better  than 
the  County  ?  Would  an  exchange  of  name  be  an  exchange 
of  rights  ?  Upon  what  principle,  upon  what  rightful  prin- 
ciple, may  a  State,  being  no  more  than  one-fiftieth  part  of  the 
nation  in  soil  and  population,  break  up  the  nation,  and  then 
coerce  a  proportionably  large  sub-division  of  itself  in  the 
most  arbitrary  way  ?  What  mysterious  right  to  play  tyrant 
is  conferred  on  a  district  or  country  with  its  people,  by 
merely  calling  it  a  State  ?  Fellow  citizens,  I  am  not  assert- 
ing any  thing.  I  am  merely  asking  questions  for  you  to 
consider.     And  now  allow  me  to  bid  you  farewell." 

Proceeding  to  Cincinnati,  he  received  a  most  enthusiastic 


70  LIFE   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

To  Washfngton.  Speech  at  Cincinnatti.  The  Republican  Policy. 

welcome.  Having  been  addressed  by  the  mayor  of  the  city, 
and  escorted  by  a  civic  and  military  procession  to  the  Burnet 
House,  he  addressed  the  assemblage  in  these  words  : 

"  Fellow-Citizens  :  I  have  spoken  but  once  before  this  in 
Cincinnati.  That  was  a  year  previous  to  the  late  Presidential 
election.  On  that  occasion  in  a  playful  manner,  but  with 
sincere  words,  I  addressed  much  of  what  I  said  to  the  Ken- 
tuckians.  I  gave  my  opinion  that  we,  as  Republicans,  would 
ultimately  beat  them  as  Democrats,  but  that  they  could  post- 
pone the  result  longer  by  nominating  Senator  Douglas  for  the 
Presidency  than  they  could  in  any  other  way.  They  did  not, 
in  any  true  sense  of  the  word,  nominate  Mr.  Douglas,  and  the 
result  has  come  certainly  as  soon  as  ever  I  expected. 

"  I  also  told  them  how  I  expected  they  would  be  treated 
after  they  should  have  been  beaten,  and  now  wish  to  call 
their  attention  to  what  I  then  said  : 

"  '  When  we  do,  as  we  say  we  will,  beat  you,  you  perhaps 
want  to  know  what  we  will  do  with  you.  I  will  tell  you — 
as  far  as  I  am  authorized  to  speak  for  the  opposition — what 
we  mean  to  do  with  you.  We  mean  to  treat  you  as  near  as 
we  possibly  can,  as  Washington,  Jefferson,  and  Madison 
treated  you.  We  mean  to  leave  you  alone,  and  in  no  way  to 
interfere  with  your  institutions  ;  to  abide  by  all  and  every 
compromise  of  the  Constitution.  In  a  word,  coming  back  to 
the  original  proposition,  to  treat  you,  as  far  as  degenerate 
men — if  we  have  degenerated — may,  according  to  the  exam- 
ple of  those  noble  fathers,  Washington,  Jefferson,  and  Mad- 
ison. We  mean  to  remember  that  you  are  as  good  as  we  ; 
that  there  is  no  difference  between  us  other  than  the  difference 
of  circumstances.  We  mean  to  recognize  and  bear  in  mind 
always  that  you  have  as  good  hearts  in  your  bosoms  as  other 
people,  or  as  we  claim  to  have,  and  to  treat  you  accordingly.' 

"  Fellow-citizens  of  Kentucky,  friends,  brethren :  May  I 
call  you  such  ?  In  my  new  position  I  see  no  occasion  and 
feel  no  inclination  to  retract  a  word  of  this.     If  it  shall 


TO   WASHINGTON.  71 


Speech  at  Columbua.  The  Ohio  Legislature.  Reliance  on  God. 

not  be  made  good  be   assured  that  the  fault  shall  not  be 
mine." 

On  the  next  morning  he  left  Cincinnati,  and  arrived  at 
Columbus,  where  he  was  received  with  every  demonstration 
of  enthusiasm.  He  visited  the  Governor  in  the  Executive 
Chamber,  and  was  subsequently  introduced  to  the  members 
of  the  Legislature  in  joint  session,  when  he  was  formally 
welcomed  by  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  to  whom  Mr.  Lincoln 
responded  in  these  words  : 

"  It  is  true,  as  has  been  said  bv  the  President  of  the  Senate, 
that  very  great  responsibility  rests  upon  me  in  the  position 
to  which  the  votes  of  the  American  people  have  called  me 
I  am  deeply  sensible  of  that  weighty  responsibility.  I  can- 
not but  know,  what  you  all  know,  that  without  a  name — 
perhaps  without  a  reason  why  I  should  have  a  name — there 
has  fallen  upon  me  a  task  such  as  did  not  rest  upon  the 
Father  of  his  Country.  And  so  feeling,  I  cannot  but  turn 
and  look  for  the  support  without  which  it  will  be  impossible 
for  me  to  perform  that  great  task.  I  turn,  then,  and  look  to 
the  American  people,  and  to  that  God  who  has  never  for- 
saken them. 

"Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  interest  felt  in  relation  to 
the  policy  of  the  new  Administration.  In  this,  I  have  re 
ceived  from  some  a  degree  of  credit  for  having  kept  silence, 
from  others  some  depreciation.  I  still  think  I  was  right.  In 
the  varying  and  repeatedly  shifting  scenes  of  the  present, 
without  a  precedent  which  could  enable  me  to  judge  for  the 
past,  it  has  seemed  fitting,  that  before  speaking  upon  the 
difficulties  of  the  country  I  should  have  gained  a  view  of  the 
whole  field.  To  be  sure,  after  all,  I  would  be  at  liberty  to 
modify  and  change  the  course  of  policy  as  future  events 
might  make  a  change  necessary. 

"  I  have  not  maintained  silence  from  any  want  of  real  anx- 
iety. It  is  a  good  thing  that  there  is  no  more  than  anxiety, 
for  there  is  nothing  going  wrong.     It  is  a  consoling  circum- 


72  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

To  Washington.  Speech  at  Stoubenville.  Speech  at  Pittsburgh. 

stance  that  when  we  look  out  there  is  nothing  that  really 
hurts  anybody.  We  entertain  diiferent  views  upon  political 
questions,  but  nobody  is  suffering  any  thing.  This  is  a  most 
consoling  circumstance,  and  from  it  I  judge  that  all  we  want 
is  time  and  patience,  and  a  reliance  on  that  God  who  has 
never  forsaken  this  people." 

On  the  14th  of  February,  Mr.  Lincoln  proceeded  to  Pitts- 
burgh. At  Steubenville,  on  the  route,  in  reply  to  an  address, 
he  said : 

"  I  fear  the  great  confidence  placed  in  my  ability  is  un- 
founded. Indeed,  I  am  sure  it  is.  Encompassed  by  vast 
difficulties,  as  I  am,  nothing  shall  be  wanted  on  my  part,  if 
sustained  by  the  American  people  and  God.  I  believe  the 
devotion  to  the  Constitution  is  equally  great  on  both  sides  of 
the  river.  It  is  only  the  different  understanding  of  that  in- 
strument that  causes  difficulties.  The  only  dispute  is  '  What 
are  their  rights  ?'  If  the  majority  should  not  rule  who  should 
be  the  judge  ?  Where  is  such  a  judge  to  be  found  ?  We 
should  all  be  bound  by  the  majority  of  the  American  people 
— if  not,  then  the  minority  must  control.  Would  that  be 
right  ?  Would  it  be  just  or  generous  ?  Assuredly  not."  He 
reiterated,  the  majority  should  rule.  If  he  adopted  a  wrong 
policy,  then  the  opportunity  to  condemn  him  would  occur  in 
four  years'  time.  "  Then  I  can  be  turned  out  and  a  better 
man  w4th  better  views  put  in  my  place." 

The  next  morning  he  left  for  Cleveland,  but  before  his  de- 
parture he  made  an  address  to  the  people  of  Pittsburgh,  in 
which  he  said  : 

"  In  every  short  address  I  have  made  to  the  people,  and  in 
every  crowd  through  which  I  have  passed  of  late,  some  al- 
lusion has  been  made  to  the  present  distracted  condition  of 
the  country.  It  is  naturally  expected  that  I  should  say 
something  upon  this  subject,  but  to  touch  upon  it  at  all  would 
involve  an  elaborate  discussion  of  a  great  many  questions 
and  circumstances,  would  require  more  time  than  I  can  at 


TO   WASHINGTON.  73 


Speech  at  Pittsburgh.  Condition  of  the  Country.  Crisis  an  artificial  one. 

present  command,  and  would  perhaps  unnecessarily  commit 
me  upon  matters  which  have  not  yet  fully  developed  them- 
selves. 

"  The  condition  of  the  country,  fellow-citizens,  is  an  ex- 
traordinary one,  and  fills  the  mind  of  every  patriot  with 
anxiety  and  solicitude.  My  intention  is  to  give  this  subject 
all  the  consideration  which  I  possibly  can  before  I  speak  fully 
and  definitely  in  regard  to  it,  so  that,  when  I  do  speak,  I 
may  be  as  nearly  right  as  possible.  And  when  I  do  speak, 
fellow-citizens,  I  hope  to  say  nothing  in  opposition  to  the 
spirit  of  the  Constitution,  contrary  to  the  integrity  of  the 
Union,  or  which  will  in  any  way  prove  inimical  to  the  liber- 
ties of  the  people  or  to  the  peace  of  the  whole  country. 
And,  furthermore,  when  the  time  arrives  for  me  to  speak  on 
this  great  subject,  I  hope  to  say  nothing  which  will  disap- 
point the  reasonable  expectations  of  any  man,  or  disappoint 
the  people  generally  throughout  the  country,  especially  if 
their  expectations  have  been  based  upon  any  thing  which  I 
may  have  heretofore  said. 

"  Notwithstanding  the  troubles  across  the  river  [the 
speaker,  smiling,  pointed  southwardly  to  the  Monongahela 
river],  there  is  really  no  crisis  springing  from  any  thing  in 
the  Government  itself.  In  plain  words,  there  is  really  no 
crisis  except  an  artificial  one.  What  is  there  now  to  warrant 
the  condition  of  affairs  presented  by  our  friends  '  over  the 
river  V  Take  even  their  own  view  of  the  questions  involved, 
and  there  is  nothing  to  justify  the  course  which  they  are  pur- 
suing. I  repeat  it,  then,  there  is  no  crisis,  except  such  a  one 
as  may  be  gotten  up  at  any  time  by  turbulent  men,  aided  by 
designing  politicians.  My  advice,  then,  under  such  circum- 
stances, is  to  keep  cool.  If  the  great  American  people  will 
only  keep  their  temper  on  both  sides  of  the  line,  the  trouble 
will  come  to  an  end,  and  the  question  which  now  distracts 
the  country  will  be  settled  just  as  surely  as  all  other  diffi- 
culties of  like  character  which  have  originated  in  this 
government  have  been  adjusted.     Let  the  people  on  both 


74  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

To  Washington.  Speech  at  Pittsburgh.  Speech  at  Cleveland. 

sides  keep  their  self-possession,  and  just  as  other  clouds  have 
cleared  away  in  due  time,  so  will  this,  and  this  great  nation 
shall  continue  to  prosper  as  heretofore." 

He  then  referred  to  the  subject  of  the  tariff,  and  said  : 
"According  to  my  political  education,  I  am  inclined  to 
believe  that  the  people  in  the  various  portions  of  the  country 
should  have  their  own  views  carried  out  through  their  repre- 
sentatives in  Congress.  That  consideration  of  the  tariff  bill 
should  not  be  postponed  until  the  next  session  of  the  Na- 
tional Legislature.  No  subject  should  engage  your  repre- 
sentatives more  closely  than  that  of  the  tariff.  If  I  have 
any  recommendation  to  make,  it  will  be  that  every  man  who 
is  called  upon  to  serve  the  people,  in  a  representative  ca- 
pacity, should  study  the  whole  subject  thoroughly,  as  I  intend 
to  do  myself,  looking  to  all  the  varied  interests  of  the  com- 
mon country,  so  that,  when  the  time  for  action  arrives,  ade- 
quate protection  shall  be  extended  to  the  coal  and  iron  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  corn  of  Illinois.  Permit  me  to  express 
the  hope  that  this  important  subject  may  receive  such  con- 
sideration at  the  hands  of  your  representatives  that  the 
interests  of  no  part  of  the  country  may  be  overlooked,  but 
that  all  sections  may  share  in  the  common  benefits  of  a  just 
and  equitable  tariff." 

Mr.  Lincoln,  upon  his  arrival  in  Cleveland,  adverted  to  the 
same  subject  in  the  following  terms : 

"  It  is  with  you,  the  people,  to  advance  the  great  cause  of 
the  Union  and  the  Constitution,  and  not  with  any  one  man. 
It  rests  with  you  alone.  This  fact  is  strongly  impressed  on 
my  mind  at  present.  In  a  community  like  this,  whose  ap- 
pearance testifies  to  their  intelligence,  I  am  convinced  that 
the  cause  of  liberty  and  the  Union  can  never  be  in  danger. 
Frequent  allusion  is  made  to  the  excitement  at  present  exist- 
ing in  national  politics.  I  think  there  is  no  occasion  for  any 
excitement.  The  crisis,  as  it  is  called,  is  altogether  an  arti- 
ficial crisis.     In  all  parts  of  the  nation,  there  are  differences 


TO   WASHINGTON".  75 


Speech  at  Cleveland.  The  Deputation  at  Buffalo.  Speech  at  Buffalo. 

of  opinion  in  politics.  There  are  differences  of  opinion  even 
here.  You  did  not,  all  vote  for  the  person  who  now  addresses 
you.  And  how  is  it  with  those  who  are  not  here  ?  Have 
they  not  all  their  rights  as  they  ever  had  ?  Do  they  not  have 
their  fugitive  slaves  returned  now  as  ever  ?  Have  they  not 
the  same  Constitution  that  they  have  lived  under  for  seventy 
odd  years  ?  Have  they  not  a  position  as  citizens  of  this 
common  country,  and  have  we  any  power  to  change  that 
position  ?  What,  then,  is  the  matter  with  them  ?  Why  all 
this  excitement  ?  Why  all  these  complaints  ?  As  I  said 
before,  this  crisis  is  all  artificial.  It  has  no  foundation  in 
fact.  It  was  '  argued  up,'  as  the  saying  is,  and  cannot  be 
argued  down.     Let  it  alone,  and  it  will  go  down  itself." 

On  Saturday  he  proceeded  to  Buffalo,  where  he  arrived 
at  evening,  and  was  met  by  an  immense  concourse  of  citizens, 
headed  by  Ex-President  Fillmore. 

Arriving  at  the  hotel,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  welcomed  in  a 
brief  speech  by  the  acting  chief  magistrate,  to  which  he  made 
a  brief  reply,  as  follows  : 

"  Mr.  Mayor  and  Fellow  Citizens  : — I  am  here  to  thank 
you  briefly  for  this  grand  reception  given  to  me  not  personally, 
but  as  the  representative  of  our  great  and  beloved  country. 
Your  worthy  Mayor  has  been  pleased  to  mention  in  his 
address  to  me,  the  fortunate  and  agreeable  journey  which  I 
have  had  from  home — only  it  is  rather  a  circuitous  route  to 
the  Federal  Capitol.  I  am  very  happy  that  he  was  enabled, 
in  truth,  to  congratulate  myself  and  company  on  that  fact. 
It  is  true,  we  have  had  nothing  thus  far  to  mar  the  pleasure 
of  the  trip.  We  have  not  been  met  alone  by  those  who 
assisted  in  giving  the  election  to  me  ;  I  say  not  alone,  but  by 
the  whole  population  of  the  country  through  which  we  have 
passed.  This  is  as  it  should  be.  Had  the  election  fallen  to 
any  other  of  the  distinguished  candidates  instead  of  myself, 
under  the  peculiar  circumstances,  to  say  the  least,  it  would 


76  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

To  Washington.  Speech  at  Buffalo.        Our  Difficulties  without  Precedent. 

have  been  proper  for  all  citizens  to  have  greeted  him  as  you 
now  greet  me.  It  is  an  evidence  of  the  devotion  of  the  vphole 
people  to  the  Constitution,  the  Union,  and  the  perpetuity  of 
the  liberties  of  this  country.  I  am  unwilling,  on  any  occa- 
sion, that  I  should  be  so  meanly  thought  of  as  to  have  it  sup- 
posed for  a  moment  that  these  demonstrations  are  tendered 
to  me  personally.  They  are  tendered  to  the  country,  to  the 
institutions  of  the  country,  and  to  the  perpetuity  of  the  liber- 
ties of  the  country  for  which  these  institutions  were  made  and 
created.  Your  worthy  mayor  has  thought  fit  to  express  the 
hope  that  I  may  be  able  to  relieve  the  country  from  the  pre- 
sent, or,  I  should  say,  the  threatened  difficulties.  I  am  sure 
I  bring  a  heart  true  to  the  work.  For  the  ability  to  perform 
it,  I  trust  in  that  Supreme  Being  who  has  never  forsaken  this 
favored  land,  through  the  instrumentality  of  this  great  and 
intelligent  people.  Without  that  assistance  I  should  surely 
fail ;  with  it  I  cannot  fail.  When  we  speak  of  the  threatened 
difficulties  to  the  country,  it  is  natural  that  it  should  be  ex- 
pected that  something  should  be  said  by  myself  with  regard  to 
particular  measures.  Upon  more  mature  reflection,  however, 
I  think, — and  others  will  agree  with  me — that,  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  these  difficulties  are  without  precedent,  and  never 
have  been  acted  upon  by  any  individual  situated  as  I  am,  it 
is  most  proper  that' I  should  wait  and  see  the  developments, 
and  get  all  the  light  possible,  so  that,  when  I  do  speak 
authoritatively,  I  may  be  as  near  right  as  possible.  When  I 
shall  speak  authoi'itatively,  I  hope  to  say  nothing  inconsistent 
with  the  Constitution,  the  Union,  the  rights  of  all  the  States, 
of  each  State,  and  of  each  section  of  the  country,  and  not  to 
disappoint  the  reasonable  expectations  of  those  who  have 
confided  to  me  their  votes.  In  this  connection,  allow  me  to 
say  that  you,  as  a  portion  of  the  great  American  people,  need 
only  to  maintain  your  composure,  stand  up  to  your  sober 
convictions  of  right,  to  your  obligations  to  the  Constitution, 
and  act  in  accordance  with  those  sober  convictions,  and  the 


TO   WASHIXGTOX.  77 


Deputation  at  Albany.  Speech  at  Albany.  Americans  one  Peoplo. 

clouds  which  now  ai'ise  in  the  horizon  will  be  dispelled,  and 
we  shall  have  a  bright  and  glorious  future  ;  and,  when  this 
generation  shall  have  passed  away,  tens  of  thousands  shall 
inhabit  this  country  where  only  thousands  inhabit  it  now.  I 
do  not  propose  to  address  you  at  length.  I  have  no  voice  for 
it.  Allow  me  again  to  thank  you  for  this  magnificent  recep- 
tion, and  bid  you  farewell." 

Mr.  Lincoln  then  proceeded  from  Buffalo  to  Albany.  Here 
be  was  met  by  the  Mayor,  the  City  Councils,  and  the  Legis- 
lative Committees,  and  was  conducted  to  the  Capitol,  where 
he  was  welcomed  by  Governor  Morgan,  and  responded  briefly, 
as  follows  : 

"  Governor  Morgan  : — I  was  pleased  to  receive  an  invita- 
tion to  visit  the  capital  of  the  great  Empire  State  of  this 
nation,  while  on  my  way  to  the  Federal  capital.  I  now  thank 
you,  and  you,  the  people  of  the  capital  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  for  this  most  hearty  and  magnificent  welcome.  If  I  am 
not  at  fault,  the  great  Empire  State  at  this  time  contains  a 
larger  population  than  did  the  whole  of  the  United  States  of 
America  at  the  time  they  achieved  their  national  indepen- 
dence ;  and  I  was  proud  to  be  invited  to  visit  its  capital,  to 
meet  its  citizens  as  I  now  have  the  honor  to  do.  I  am  noti- 
fied by  your  governor  that  this  reception  is  tendered  by  citizens 
without  distinction  of  party.  Because  of  this,  I  accept  it  the 
more  gladly.  In  this  country,  find  in  any  country  where  free- 
dom of  thought  is  tolerated,  citizens  attach  themselves  to  poli- 
tical parties.  It  is  but  an  ordinary  degree  of  charity  to  attri 
ute  this  act  to  the  supposition  that,  in  thus  attaching  them 
selves  to  the  various  parties,  each  man,  in  his  own  judgment, 
supposes  be  thereby  best  advances  the  interests  of  the  wholo 
country.  And  when  an  election  is  passed,  it  is  altogether 
befitting  a  free  people  that,  until  the  next  election,  they  should 
be  one  people.  The  reception  you  have  extended  me  to-day 
is  not  given  to  me  personally.  It  should  not  be  so,  but  as  the 
representative,  for  the  time  being,  of  the  majority  of  the  nation 


78  LIFE   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLIST. 

To  Washington.  Speech  at  Albany.  Addresses  the  Legislature. 

If  the  election  had  fallen  to  any  of  the  more  distinguished  citi- 
zens, who  received  the  support  of  the  people,  this  same  honor 
should  have  greeted  him  that  greets  me  this  day,  in  testimony 
of  the  unanimous  devotion  of  the  whole  people  to  the  Consti- 
ution,  the  Union,  and  to  the  perpetual  liberties  of  succeeding 
generations  in  this  country.  I  have  neither  the  voice  nor  the 
strength  to  address  you  at  any  greater  length.  I  beg  you 
will,  therefore,  accept  my  most  grateful  thanks  for  this  mani- 
fest devotion — not  to  me  but  to  the  institutions  of  this  great 
and  glorious  country." 

He  was  then  conducted  to  the  Legislative  halls,  where,  in 
reply  to  an  address  of  welcome,  he  again  adverted  to  the  trou- 
bles of  the  country  in  the  following  terms  : 

"  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  op  the  Legislature  of 
THE  State  op  New  York  : — It  is  with  feelings  of  great  diffi- 
dence, and,  I  may  say,  feelings  even  of  awe,  perhaps  greater 
than  I  have  recently  experienced,  that  I  meet  you  here  in  this 
place.  The  history  of  this  great  State,  the  renown  of  its  great 
men,  who  have  stood  in  this  chamber,  and  have  spoken  their 
thoughts,  all  crowd  around  my  fancy,  and  incline  me  to  shrink 
from  an  attempt  to  address  you.  Yet  I  have  some  confidence 
given  me  by  the  generous  manner  in  which  you  have  invited 
me,  and  the  still  more  generous  manner  in  which  you  have  re- 
ceived me.  You  have  invited  me  and  received  me  without  dis- 
tinction of  party.  I  could  not  for  a  moment  suppose  that  this 
has  been  done  in  any  considerable  degree  with  any  reference 
to  my  personal  self.  It  is  very  much  more  grateful  to  me 
that  this  reception  and  the  invitation  preceding  it  were  given 
to  me  as  the  representative  of  a  free  people,  than  it  could  pos- 
sibly have  been  were  they  but  the  evidence  of  devotion  to  me 
or  to  any  one  man.  It  is  true  that,  while  I  hold  myself, 
without  mock-modesty,  the  humblest  of  all  the  individuals 
who  have  ever  been  elected  President  of  the  United  States,  I 
yet  have  a  more  difficult  task  to  perform  than  any  one  of  them 
has  e\  er  encountered.     You  have  here  generously  tendered 


TO   WASHINGTOK  79 


New  York  Legislature.  Deputation  from  N.  Y.  City.  Speech  at  Poughkeepsie. 

me  the  support,  the  united  support,  of  the  great  Empire  State. 
For  this,  in  behalf  of  the  nation — in  behalf  of  the  President 
and  of  the  future  of  the  nation — in  behalf  of  the  cause  of  civil 
liberty  in  all  time  to  come — I  most  gratefully  thank  you.  I 
do  not  propose  now  to  enter  upon  any  expressions  as  to  the 
particular  line  of  policy  to  be  adopted  with  reference  to  the 
difficulties  that  stand  before  us  in  the  opening  of  the  incoming 
administration.  I  deem  that  it  is  just  to  the  country,  to  my- 
self, to  you,  that  I  should  see  every  thing,  hear  every  thing, 
and  have  every  light  that  can  possibly  be  brought  within  my 
reach  to  aid  me  before  I  shall  speak  officially,  in  order  that, 
when  I  do  speak,  I  may  have  the  best  possible  means  of 
taking  correct  and  true  grounds.  For  this  reason,  I  do  not 
now  announce  any  thing  in  the  way  of  policy  for  the  new 
Administration.  When  the  time  comes,  according  to  the  cus- 
tom of  the  Government,  I  shall  speak,  and  speak  as  well  as  I 
am  able  for  the  good  of  the  present  and  of  the  future  of  this 
country — for  the  good  of  the  North  and  of  the  South — for  the 
good  of  one  and  of  the  other,  and  of  all  sections  of  it.  In  the 
meantime,  if  we  have  patience,  if  we  maintain  our  equanimity, 
though  some  may  allow  themselves  to  run  off  in  a  burst  of 
passion,  I  still  have  confidence  that  the  Almighty  Ruler  of 
the  Universe,  through  the  instrumentality  of  this  great  and 
intelligent  people,  can  and  will  bring  us  through  this  difficulty, 
as  he  has  heretofore  brought  us  through  all  preceding  diffi- 
culties of  the  cotintry.  Relying  upon  this,  and  again  thanking 
you,  as  I  forever  shall,  in  my  heart,  for  this  generous  recep- 
tion you  have  given  me,  I  bid  you  farewell." 

At  Albany,  he  was  met  by  a  delegation  from  the  city 
authorities  of  New  York,  and  on  the  19th  started  for  that 
city.  At  Poughkeepsie,  he  was  welcomed  by  the  Mayor  of 
the  city.     Mr.  Lincoln,  in  reply,  said  : 

"  I  am  grateful  for  this  cordial  welcome,  and  I  am  gratified 
that  this  immense  multitude  has  come  together,  not  to  moot 


80  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

To  Washington.  Speech  at  Poughkeepsie.  Speech  in  New  York. 

the  individual  man,  but  the  man  who,  for  the  time  being,  will 
humbly  but  earnestly  represent  the  majesty  of  the  nation. 
These  receptions  have  been  given  me  at  other  places,  and,  as 
here,  by  men  of  different  parties,  and  not  by  one  party  alone. 
It  shows  an  earnest  effort  on  the  part  of  all  to  save,  not  the 
country,  for  the  country  can  save  itself,  but  to  save  the  insti- 
tutions of  the  country — those  institutious  under  which,  for  at 
least  three-quarters  of  a  century,  we  have  become  the 
greatest,  the  most  intelligent,  and  the  happiest  people  in  the 
world.  These  manifestations  show  that  we  all  make  common 
cause  for  these  objects  ;  that  if  some  of  us  are  successful  in  an 
election,  and  others  are  beaten,  those  who  are  beaten  are  not 
in  favor  of  sinking  the  ship  in  consequence  of  defeat,  but  are 
earnest  in  their  purpose  to  sail  it  safely  through  the  voyage 
in  hand,  and,  in  so  far  as  they  may  think  there  has  been  any 
mistake  in  the  election,  satisfying  themselves  to  take  their 
chance  of  setting  the  matter  right  the  next  time.  That 
course  is  entirely  right.  I  am  not  sure — I  do  not  pi-etend  to 
be  sure — that  in  the  election  of  the  individual  who  has  been 
elected  this  term,  the  wisest  choice  has  been  made.  I  fear 
it  has  not.  In  the  purposes  and  in  the  principles  that  have 
been  sustained,  I  have  been  the  instrument  selected  to  carry 
forward  the  affairs  of  this  Government.  I  can  rely  upon  you, 
and  upon  the  people  of  the  country  ;  and  with  their  sustain- 
ing hand,  I  think  that  even  I  shall  not  fail  in  carrying  the 
Ship  of  State  through  the  storm." 

The  reception  of  President  Lincoln  in  New  York  City  was 
a  most  imposing  demonstration.  Places  of  business  were 
generally  closed,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  were  in  the 
streets.  On  the  next  day,  he  was  welcomed  to  the  city  by 
Mayor  Wood,  and  replied  as  follows : 

"  Mr.  Mayor  :  It  is  with  feelings  of  deep  gratitude  that  I 
make  my  acknowledgments  for  the  reception  given  me  in  the 
great  commercial  city  of  New  York.     I  cannot  but  remember 


TO    WASHINGTON  81 


Speech  in  New'^  York.  The  Ship  of  State.  Speech  at  Trenton. 


that  this  is  clone  by  a  people  who  do  not,  by  a  majority, 
agree  with  me  in  political  sentiment.  It  is  the  more  grateful, 
because  in  this  I  see  that,  for  the  great  principles  of  our 
Government,  the  people  are  almost  unanimous.  In  regard 
to  the  difficulties  that  confront  us  at  this  time,  and  of  which 
your  Honor  has  thought  fit  to  speak  so  becomingly  and 
so  justly,  as  I  suppose,  I  can  only  say  that  I  agree  in  the 
sentiments  expressed.  In  my  devotion  to  the  Union,  I  hope 
I  am  behind  no  man  in  the  nation.  In  the  wisdom  with 
which  to  conduct  the  affairs  tending  to  the  preservation  of  the 
Union,  I  fear  that  too  great  confidence  may  have  been  reposed 
in  me  ;  but  I  am  sure  I  bring  a  heart  devoted  to  the  work. 
There  is  nothing  that  could  ever  bring  me  to  willingly  con- 
sent to  the  destruction  of  this  Union,  under  which  not  only 
the  great  commercial  city  of  New  York,  but  the  whole 
country,  acquired  its  greatness,  except  it  be  the  purpose  for 
which  the  Union  itself  was  formed.  I  understand  the  ship  to 
be  made  for  the  carrying  and  the  preservation  of  the  cargo,  and 
so  long  as  the  ship  can  be  saved  with  the  cargo,  it  should  never 
be  abandoned,  unless  it  fails  the  possibility  of  its  preservation, 
and  shall  cease  to  exist,  except  at  the  risk  of  throwing  over- 
board both  freight  and  passengers.  So  long,  then,  as  it  is 
possible  that  the  prosperity  and  the  liberties  of  the  people  be 
preserved  in  this  Union,  it  shall  be  my  purpose  at  all  times  to 
use  all  my  powers  to  aid  in  its  perpetuation.  Again  thanking 
you  for  the  reception  given  me,  allow  me  to  come  to  a  close." 

On  the  next  day  he  left  for  Philadelphia.  At  Trenton  be 
remained  a  few  hours,  and  visited  both  Houses  of  the  Legis- 
lature. On  being  received  in  the  Senate,  he  thus  addressed 
that  body  : 

"Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Senate  of  the 

State  of  New  Jersey  : — I  am  very  grateful  to  you  for  the 

honorable  reception  of  which  I  have  been  the  object.     I  cannot 

but  remember  the  place  that  New  Jersey  holds  in  our  early  his- 

6 


82  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Speech  at  Trenton.  Early  Memuiies.  The  llevolutiouary  Struggle. 

toiy.  In  the  early  Revolutionary  struggle,  few  of  the  States 
among  the  old  Thirteen  had  more  of  the  battle-fields  of  the 
country  within  its  limits  than  old  New  Jersey.  May  I  be  par- 
doned, if,  upon  this  occasion,  I  mention  that  away  back  in  my 
childhood,  the  earliest  days  of  my  being  able  to  read,  I  got 
hold  of  a  small  book,  such  a  one  as  few  of  the  younger  members 
have  ever  seen,  'Weems'  Life  of  Washington.'  I  remember 
all  the  accounts  there  given  of  the  battle-fields  and  struggles 
for  the  liberties  of  the  country,  and  none  fixed  themselves 
upon  my  imagination  so  deeply  as  the  struggle  here  at 
Trenton,  New  Jersey.  The  crossing  of  the  river — the 
contest  with  the  Hessians — the  great  hardships  endured 
at  that  time — all  fixed  themselves  on  my  memory  more  than 
any  single  revolutionary  event ;  and  you  all  know,  for 
you  have  all  been  boys,  how  these  early  impressions  last 
longer  than  any  others.  I  recollect  thinking  then,  boy  even 
though  I  was,  that  there  must  have  been  something  more 
than  common  that  those  men  struggled  for.  I  am  exceed- 
ingly anxious  that  that  thing  which  they  struggled  for — that 
something  even  more  than  National  Independence  —  that 
something  that  held  out  a  great  promise  to  all  the  people  of 
the  world  to  all  time  to  come — I  am  exceedingly  anxious 
that  this  Union,  the  Constitution,  and  the  liberties  of  the 
people,  shall  be  perpetuated  in  accordance  with  the  original 
idea  for  which  that  struggle  was  made,  and  I  shall  be  most 
happy  indeed,  if  I  shall  be  an  humble  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  the  Almighty,  and  of  this,  His  almost  chosen 
people,  for  perpetuating  the  object  of  that  great  struggle. 
You  give  me  this  reception,  as  I  understand,  without  distinc- 
tion of  party.  I  learn  that  this  body  is  composed  of  a 
majority  of  gentlemen  who,  in  the  exercise  of  their  best 
judgment  in  the  choice  of  a  Chief  Magistrate,  did  not  think 
I  was  the  man.  I  understand,  nevertheless,  that  they  came 
forward  here  to  greet  me  as  the  Constitutional  President  of 
the  United  States — as  citizens  of  the  United  States,  to  meet 


TO   WASHINGTON".  83 


Speech  at  Trenton.  Address  to  the  Legislature.  The  "Whole  Country. 

the  man  who,  for  the  time  being,  is  the  representative  man  of 
the  nation,  united  by  a  purpose  to  perpetuate  the  Union  and 
liberties  of  the  people.  As  such,  I  accept  this  reception 
more  gratefully  than  I  could  do  did  I  believe  it  was  tendered 
to  me  as  an  individual." 

He  then  passed  into  the  Chamber  of  the  Assembly,  and 
upon  being  introduced  by  the  Speaker,  addressed  that  body 
as  follows : 

"  Mr.  Speaker  and  Gentlemen  : — I  have  just  enjoyed  the 
honor  of  a  reception  by  the  other  branch  of  this  Legislature, 
and  I  return  to  you  and  them  my  thanks  for  the  reception 
which  the  people  of  New  Jersey  have  given,  through  their 
chosen  representatives,  to  me,  as  the  representative,  for  the 
time  being,  of  the  majesty  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  I  appropriate  to  myself  very  Utile  of  the  demonstra- 
tions of  respect  with  which  I  have  been  greeted.  I  think 
little  should  be  given  to  any  man,  but  that  it  should  be 
a  manifestation  of  adherence  to  the  Union  and  the  Constitu- 
tion. I  understand  myself  to  be  received  here  by  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people  of  New  Jersey,  a  majority  of  whom 
differ  in  opinion  from  those  with  whom  I  have  acted.  This 
manifestation  is  therefore  to  be  regarded  by  me  as  expressing 
their  devotion  to  the  Union,  the  Constitution,  and  the 
liberties  of  the  people.  Tou,  Mr.  Speaker,  have  well  said, 
that  this  is  the  time  when  the  bravest  and  wisest  look  with 
doubt  and  awe  upon  the  aspect  presented  by  our  national 
affairs.  Under  these  circumstances,  you  will  readily  see  why 
I  should  not  speak  in  detail  of  the  course  I  shall  deem  it 
best  to  pursue.  It  is  proper  that  I  should  avail  myself  of 
all  the  information  and  all  the  time  at  my  command,  in  order 
that  when  the  time  arrives  in  which  I  must  speak  officially, 
I  shall  be  able  to  take  the  ground  which  I  deem  the  best  and 
safest,  and  from  which  I  may  have  no  occasion  to  swerve.  1 
shall  endeavor  to  take  the  ground  I  deem  most  just  to  the 
North,  the  East,  the  "West,  the  South,  and  the  whole  country 


84  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN 

To  'Vrashington.  New  Jersey  Legislature.  Speech  at  Philadelphia. 

I  take  it,  I  hope,  in  good  temper — certainly  with  no  malice 
towards  any  section.  I  shall  do  all  that  may  be  in  my  power 
to  promote  a  peaceful  settlement  of  all  our  difficulties.  The 
man  does  not  live  who  is  more  devoted  to  peace  than  I  am — 
none  who  would  do  more  to  preserve  it.  But  it  may  be 
necessary  to  put  the  foot  down  firmly.  And  if  I  do  my  duty, 
and  do  right,  you  will  sustain  me,  will  you  not  ?  Received, 
as  I  am,  by  the  members  of  a  Legislature,  the  majority  of 
whom  do  not  agree  with  me  in  political  sentiments,  I  trust 
that  I  may  have  their  assistance  in  piloting  the  Ship  of 
State  through  this  voyage,  surrounded  by  perils  as  it  is  ;  for 
if  it  should  suffer  shipwreck  now,  there  will  be  no  pilot  ever 
needed  for  another  voyage." 

On  his  arrival  in  Philadelphia,  he  was  received  with  grea^ 
enthusiasm,  and  to  an  address  from  the  Mayor  Mr,  Lincol'  i 
replied  : 

"  Mr.  Mayor  and  Fellow-citizens  of  Philadelphia  : — 
I  appear  before  you  to  make  no  lengthy  speech  but  to 
thank  you  for  this  reception.  The  reception  you  have  given 
me  to-night  is  not  to  me,  the  man,  the  individual,  but  to  the 
man  who  temporarily  represents,  or  should  represent,  the 
majesty  of  the  nation.  It  is  true,  as  your  worthy  Mayor  has 
said,  that  there  is  anxiety  among  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  at  this  time.  I  deem  it  a  happy  circumstance  that 
this  dissatisfied  portion  of  our  fellow-citizens  do  not  point  us 
to  any  thing  in  which  they  are  being  injured,  or  are  about  to 
be  injured  ;  for  which  reason  I  have  felt  all  the  while  justified 
in  concluding  that  the  crisis,  the  panic,  the  anxiety  of  the 
country  at  this  time,  is  artificial.  If  there  be  those  who  differ 
with  me  upon  this  subject,  they  have  not  pointed  out  the 
substantial  difficulty  that  exists.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that 
au  artificial  panic  may  not  do  considerable  harm  ;  that  it  has 
done  such  I  do  not  deny.  The  hope  that  has  been  expressed 
by  your  Mayor,  that  I  may  be  able  to  restore  peace,  harmony, 
and  prosperity  to  the  country,  is  most  worthy  of  him;  and 


TO  WASHIXGTOX.  85 


Speech  in  Philadelpbia.  Visits  ludependeuce  Hall.  The  National  Flag 

happy  indeed  will  I  be  if  I  shall  be  able  to  verify  and  fulfil 
that  hope.  I  promise  you,  in  all  sincerity,  that  I  bring  to 
the  work  a  sincere  heart.  Whether  I  will  bring  a  head  equal 
to  that  heart,  will  be  for  future  times  to  determine.  It  were 
useless  for  me  to  speak  of  details  or  plans  now  ;  I  shall  speak 
oflSicially  next  Monday  week,  if  ever.  If  I  should  not  speak 
then,  it  were  useless  for  me  to  do  so  now.  If  I  do  speak 
then,  it  is  useless  for  me  to  do  so  now.  When  I  do  speak,  I 
shall  take  such  grounds  as  I  deem  best  calculated  to  restore 
peace,  harmony,  and  prosperity  to  the  country,  and  tend  to 
the  perpetuity  of  the  nation,  and  the  liberty  of  these  States 
and  these  people.  Your  worthy  Mayor  has  expressed  the 
wish,  in  which  I  join  with  him,  that  if  it  were  convenient  for 
me  to  remain  with  your  city  long  enough  to  consult  your 
merchants  and  manufacturers  ;  or,  as  it  were,  to  listen  to 
those  breathings  rising  within  the  consecrated  walls  wherein 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and,  I  will  add,  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  were  originally  framed  and 
adopted.  I  assure  you  and  your  Mayor,  that  I  had  hoped 
on  this  occasion,  and  upon  all  occasions  during  my  life,  that 
I  shall  do  nothing  inconsistent  with  the  teachings  of  these 
holy  and  most  sacred  walls.  I  never  asked  any  thing  that 
does  not  breathe  from  those  walls.  All  my  political  warfare 
has  been  in  favor  of  the  teachings  that  come  forth  from  these 
sacred  walls.  May  my  right  hand  forget  its  cunning,  and 
my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth,  if  ever  I  prove 
false  to  those  teachings.  Fellow-citizens,  now  allow  me  to 
bid  you  good-night." 

On  the  next  morning  Mr.  Lincoln  visited  the  old  "  Inde- 
pendence Hall,"  for  the  purpose  of  raising  the  national  flag 
over  it.  Here  he  was  received  with  a  warm  welcome,  and 
made  the  following  address  : 

"  I  am  filled  with  deep  emotion  at  finding  myself  standino" 
here,  in  this  place,  where  were  collected  the  wisdom,  the 
patriotism,  the  devotion  to  principle,  from  which  sprang  the 


,  86  LIFE   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


At  ludepeiidence  Hall.  Solemn  llemories.  The  Declaration  of  Independence. 

institutions  under  which  we  live.  You  have  kindly  sugge.sted 
to  me  that  in  my  hands  is  the  task  of  restoring  peace  to  the 
present  distracted  condition  of  the  country.  I  can  say  in 
return,  sir,  that  all  the  political  sentiments  I  entertain  have 
been  drawn,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  draw  them,  from 
the  sentiments  which  originated  and  were  given  to  the  world 
from  this  hall.  I  have  never  had  a  feeling  politically  that 
did  not  spring  from  the  sentiments  embodied  in  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence.  I  have  often  pondered  over  the 
dangers  which  were  incurred  by  the  men  who  assembled 
here,  and  framed  and  adopted  that  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence. I  have  pondered  over  the  toils  that  were  endured  by 
the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  army  who  achieved  that  inde- 
pendence. I  have  often  inquired  of  myself  what  great  prin- 
ciple or  idea  it  was  that  kept  this  Confederacy  so  long 
together.  It  was  not  the  mere  matter  of  the  separation  of 
the  colonies  from  the  mother-land,  but  that  sentiment  in  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  which  gave  liberty,  not  alone  to 
the  people  of  this  country,  but,  I  hope,  to  the  world  for  all 
future  time.  It  was  that  which  gave  promise  that  in  due 
time  the  weight  would  be  lifted  from  the  shoulders  of  all  men. 
This  is  a  sentiment  embodied  in  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. Now,  my  friends,  can  this  country  be  saved  upon 
this  basis?  If  it  can,  I  will  consider  myself  one  of  the 
happiest  men  in  the  world  if  I  can  help  to  save  it.  If  it 
cannot  be  saved  upon  that  principle,  it  will  be  truly  awful. 
But  if  this  country  cannot  be  saved  without  giving  up  that 
principle,  I  was  about  to  say  I  would  rather  be  assassinated 
on  this  spot  than  surrender  it.  Now,  in  my  view  of  the 
present  aspect  of  affairs,  there  need  be  no  bloodshed  or  war. 
There  is  no  necessity  for  it.  I  am  not  in  favor  of  such  a 
course,  and  I  may  say,  in  advance,  that  there  will  be  no 
blood  shed  unless  it  be  forced  upon  the  government,  and  then 
it  will  be  compelled  to  act  in  self-defence. 

"  My  friends,  this  is  wholly  an  unexpected  speech,  and  I 


TO  WASHINGTON,  87 


Raising  the  Flag.  Future  of  our  Country.  Speech  at  Ilarrisburg, 

did  not  expect  to  be  called  upon  to  say  a  word  when  I  came 
here.  I  supposed  it  was  merely  to  do  something  towards 
raising  the  flag.  I  may,  therefore,  have  said  something  in- 
discreet. I  have  said  nothing  but  what  I  am  willing  to  live 
by,  and,  if  it  be  the  pleasure  of  Almighty  God,  to  die  by." 

The  party  then  proceeded  to  a  platform  erected  in  front 
of  the  State  House,  when  the  President-elect  was  invited  to 
raise  the  flag.  Mr.  Lincoln  responded  in  a  brief  speech, 
stating  his  cheerful  compliance  with  the  request,  and  alluded 
to  the  original  flag  of  thirteen  stars,  saying  that  the  number 
had  inei'eased  as  time  rolled  on,  and  we  now  became  a  happy 
and  a  powerful  people,  each  star  adding  to  its  prosperity. 
"  The  future,"  he  added,  "  is  in  the  hands  of  the  people.  It  is 
on  such  an  occasion  as  this  that  we  can  reason  together,  re- 
affirm our  devotion  to  the  country  and  the  principles  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  Let  us  make  up  our  mind, 
that  when  we  do  put  a  new  star  upon  our  banner,  it  shall  be 
a  fixed  one,  never  to  be  dimmed  by  the  horrors  of  war,  but 
brightened  by  the  contentment  and  prosperity  of  peace.  Let 
us  go  on  to  extend  the  ai-ea  of  our  usefulness,  add  star  upou 
star,  until  their  light  shall  shine  upon  five  hundred  millions 
of  a  free  and  happy  people." 

The  President-elect  then  raised  the  flag  to  the  top  of  the 
staff. 

At  half-past  9  o'clock  the  party  left  for  Harrisburg.  Both 
Houses  of  the  Legislature  were  visited  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  to 
an  address  of  welcome  he  thus  replied : 

"  I  appear  before  you  only  for  a  very  few  brief  remarks,  in 
response  to  what  has  been  said  to  me.  I  thank  you  most 
sincerely  for  this  reception,  and  the  generous  words  in  which 
support  has  been  promised  me  upon  this  occasion.  I  thank 
your  great  commonwealth  for  the  overwhelming  support  it 
recently  gave,  not  to  me  personally,  but  the  cause,  which  I 
think  a  just  one,  in  the  late  election.  Allusion  has  been 
made  to  the  fact — the  interesting  fact,  perhaps  we  should  say 


88  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Speech  at  Harrisburg.  Allusion  to  the  Flag. 

— that  I,  for  the  first  time,  appear  at  the  Capital  of  the  great 
Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  upon  the  birthday  of  the 
Father  of  his  Country,  in  connection  with  that  beloved  anni- 
versary connected  with  the  history  of  this  country.  I  have 
already  gone  through  one  exceedingly  interesting  scene  this 
Horning  in  the  ceremonies  at  Philadelphia.  Under  the  high 
conduct  of  gentlemen  there,  I  was,  for  the  first  time,  allowed 
the  privilege  of  standing  in  Old  Independence  Hall,  to  have 
a  few  words  addressed  to  me  there,  and  opening  up  to  me  an 
opportunity  of  expressing,  with  much  regret,  that  I  had  not 
more  time  to  express  something  of  my  own  feelings,  excited 
by  the  occasion,  somewhat  to  harmonize  and  give  shape  to 
the  feelings  that  had  been  really  the  feelings  of  my  whole  life. 
Besides  this,  our  friends  there  had  provided  a  magnificent 
flag  of  the  country.  They  had  arranged  it  so  that  I  was 
given  the  honor  of  raising  it  to  the  head  of  its  staff.  And 
when  it  went  up  I  was  pleased  that  it  went  to  its  place  by 
the  strength  of  my  own  feeble  arm  ;  when,  according  to  the 
arrangement,  the  cord  was  pulled,  and  it  flaunted  gloriously 
to  the  wind  without  an  accident,  in  the  bright  glowing  sun- 
shine of  the  morning,  I  could  not  help  hoping  that  there  was 
in  the  entire  success  of  that  beautiful  ceremony  at  least  some- 
thing of  an  omen  of  what  is  to  come.  Nor  could  I  help 
feeling  then,  as  I  often  have  felt,  in  the  whole  of  that  proceed- 
ing, I  was  a  very  humble  instrument.  I  had  not  provided 
the  flag ;  I  had  not  made  the  arrangements  for  elevating  it  to 
its  place.  I  had  applied  but  a  very  small  portion  of  my 
feeble  strength  in  raising  it.  In  the  whole  transaction  I  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  people  who  had  arranged  it ;  and  if  I  can 
have  the  same  generous  cooperation  of  the  people  of  the 
nation,  I  think  the  flag  of  our  country  may  yet  be  kept 
flaunting  gloriously.  I  recur  for  a  moment  but  to  repeat 
some  words  uttered  at  the  hotel  in  regard  to  what  has  been 
said  about  the  military  support  which  the  General  Govern- 
ment may  expect  from  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania 


TO   WASHINGTON.  89 


Military  Support.  Pennsylvania's  Interests.  Departure. 

ill  a  proper  emergency.  To  guard  against  any  possible  mis- 
take do  I  recur  to  this.  It  is  not  with  any  pleasure  that  I 
contemplate  the  possibility  that  a  necessity  may  arise  in  this 
country  for  the  use  of  the  military  arm.  While  I  am  exceed- 
ingly gratified  to  see  the  manifestation  upon  your  streets  of 
your  military  force  here,  and  exceedingly  gratified  at  your 
promise  here  to  use  that  force  upon  a  proper  emergency — ■ 
while  I  make  these  acknowledgements,  I  desire  to  repeat,  in 
order  to  preclude  any  possible  misconstruction,  that  I  do 
most  sincerely  hope  that  we  shall  have  no  use  for  them  ;  that 
it  will  never  become  their  duty  to  shed  blood,  and  most 
especially  never  to  shed  fraternal  blood.  I  promise  that,  so 
far  as  I  have  wisdom  to  direct,  if  so  painful  a  result  shall  in 
any  wise  be  brought  about,  it  shall  be  through  no  fault  of 
mine.  Allusion  has  also  been  made  by  one  of  your  honored 
speakers  to  some  remark  recently  made  by  myself  at  Pitts- 
burg, in  regard  to  what  is  supposed  to  be  the  especial 
interest  of  this  great  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania.  I 
now  wish  only  to  say,  in  regard  to  that  matter,  that  the  few 
remarks  which  I  uttered  on  that  occasion  were  rather  care- 
fully worded.  I  took  pains  that  they  should  be  so.  I  have 
seen  no  occasion  since  to  add  to  them  or  subtract  from  them. 
I  leave  them  precisely  as  they  stand,  adding  only  now,  that 
I  am  pleased  to  have  an  expression  from  you,  gentlemen  of 
Pennsylvania,  significant  that  they  are  satisfactory  to  you. 
And  now,  gentlemen  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Pennsylvania,  allow  me  to  return  you  again 
my  most  sincere  thanks." 

Arrangements  had  been  made  for  his  departure  from  Har- 
risburg  on  the  following  morning;  but  the  timely  discovery 
of  a  plot  to  assassinate  him  on  his  way  through  Baltimore — a 
plot  in  which  several  of  the  leading  citizens  of  that  place 
were  believed  to  be  intei'ested,  although  the  work  was  to  be 
done  by  other  hands — caused  a  change  in  the  schedule,  and 
on  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  he  had  been  received  by 


90  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN". 

AiTival  at  Washington.  Picturial  Illusti-ation.  Speech  at  Washington. 

the  Legislature,  he  left  on  a  special  train  for  Philadelphia, 
and  thence  proceeded  in  the  sleeping-car  attached  to  the  regu- 
lar midnight  train  to  Washington,  where  he  arrived  at  an 
early  hour  on  the  morning  of  the  23d. 

As  an  evidence  how  little  the  extent  to  which  unscrupulous 
men  were  prepared  to  go,  was  understood  at  this  time,  it  may 
be  remarked  that  not  a  few  made  themselves  very  merry  over 
this  midnight  ride — a  leading  pictorial  even  indulging  jtself 
in  an  attempt  at  a  humorous  illustration  of  it,  an  act  which, 
viewed  in  the  light  of  a  startling  event  but  little  more  than 
four  years  later,  in  which  a  native  of  the  same  city  was  directly 
concerned,  would  hardly  have  been  repeated. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   NEW   ADMINISTRATION. 

Speeches  at  Washington  —  The  Inangural  Aclih-ess  —  Its  Effect — The  Cahinet — Commis- 
sioners from  Montgomery — Extract  from  A.  H.  Stephens's  speech — Virginia  Commis- 
sioners— Fall  of  Fort  Sumter. 

A  FEW  days  after  his  arrival  in  Washington,  the  President 
elect  was  waited  upon  by  the  Mayor  and  other  municipal  au- 
thorities, welcoming  him  the  city,  to  whom  he  made  the  fol- 
lowing reply : 

"  Mr.  Mayor  :  I  thank  you,  and  through  you  the  municipal 
authorities  of  this  city  who  accompany  you,  for  this  welcome. 
And  as  it  is  the  first  time  in  my  life  since  the  present  phase 
of-  politics  has  presented  itself  in  this  country,  that  I  have 
said  anything  publicly  within  a  region  of  country  where  the 
institution  of  slavery  exists,  I  will  take  this  occasion  to  say 
that  I  think  very  much  of  the  ill  feeling  which  has  existed, 
and  still  exists,  between  the  people  in  the  sections  from 
whence  T  came  and  the  people  here,  is  dependent  upon  a 
misunderstanding  of  one  another.     I  therefore  avail  myself 


THE   NEW   ADMINISTRATION".  91 

Speech  at  Wasbiugton.  Remarks  at  a  Serenade. 

of  this  opportunity  to  assure  you,  Mr.  Mayor,  and  all  the 
gentlemen  present,  that  I  have  not  now,  and  never  have  had, 
any  other  than  as  kindly  feelings  towards  you  as  towards 
the  people  of  my  own  section.  I  have  not  now,  nor  never 
have  had,  any  disposition  to  treat  you  in  any  respect  other- 
wise than  as  my  own  neighbors.  I  have  not  now  any  pur- 
pose to  withhold  from  you  any  of  the  benefits  of  the  Consti- 
tation,  under  any  circumstances,  that  I  would  not  feel  myself 
constrained  to  withhold  from  my  neighbors  ;  and  I  hope,  in  a 
word,  that  when  we  shall  become  better  acquainted,  and  I 
say  it  with  great  confidence,  we  shall  like  each  other  the 
more.     I  thank  you  for  the  kindness  of  this  reception." 

On  the  following  evening,  at  the  close  of  a  serenade  ten- 
dered him  by  the  Republican  Association,  he  thus  addressed 
the  crowd : 

"  My  friends  :  I  suppose  that  I  may  take  this  as  a  compli- 
ment paid  to  me,  and  as  such  please  accept  my  thanks  for  it. 
I  have  reached  this  city  of  Washington  under  circumstances 
considerably  differing  from  those  under  which  any  other  man 
has  ever  reached  it.  I  am  here  for  the  purpose  of  taking  an 
official  position  amongst  the  people,  almost  all  of  whom  were 
politically  opposed  to  me,  and  are  yet  opposed  to  me  as  I 
suppose.  I  propose  no  lengthy  address  to  you.  I  only  pro- 
pose to  say,  as  I  did  on  yesterday,  when  your  worthy  Mayor 
and  Board  of  Aldermen  called  upon  me,  that  I  thought  much 
of  the  ill  feeling  that  has  existed  between  you  and  the  people 
of  your  surroundings  and  that  people  from  amongst  whom  1 
came,  has  depended,  and  now  depends,  upon  a  misunder 
standing. 

"1  hope  that,  if  things  shall  go  on  as  prosperously  as  I 
believe  we  all  desire  they  may,  I  may  have  it  in  my  power  to 
remove  something  of  this  misunderstanding,  that  I  may  be 
enabled  to  convince  you,  and  the  people  of  your  section  of  the 
country,  that  we  regard  you  as  in  all  things  our  equals,  and 
in  all  things  entitled  to  the  same  respect  and  the  same  treat- 


92  LIFE   OP   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Constitutional  Rights.  Anxiety  for  the  Inaugural. 

ment  that  we  claim  for  ourselves  ;  that  we  are  in  nowise  dis- 
posed, if  it  were  in  our  power,  to  oppress  you,  to  deprive 
jou  of  any  of  your  rights  under  the  Constitution  of  the 
TJnited  States,  or  even  narrowly  to  split  hairs  with  you  in 
regard  to  those  rights,  but  are  determined  to  give  you,  as  far 
as  lies  in  our  hands,  all  your  rights  under  the  Constitution — 
not  grudgingly,  but  fully  and  fairly.  I  hope  that,  by  thus 
dealing  with  you,  we  will  become  better  acquainted,  and  be 
better  friends.  And  now,  my  friends,  with  these  few  re- 
marks, and  again  returning  my  thanks  for  this  compliment, 
and  expressing  my  desire  to  hear  a  little  more  of  your  good 
music,  I  bid  you  good-night." 

Never,  in  the  history  of  the  country,  has  the  inaugural 
address  of  any  President  been  so  anxiously  awaited  as  was 
that  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  The  most  of  his  countrymen,  even  in 
States  whose  loyalty  to  the  Government  was  beyond  sus- 
picion, were  certain  to  be  disappointed,  whatever  that  inaug- 
ural might  prove  to  be.  An  impression  prevailed,  for  which 
no  good  grounds  could  be  shown,  that  somehow,  in  some  in- 
explicable way,  this  particular  address  would  operate  as  a 
panacea  to  heal  the  nation's  malady.  One  class,  who  knew 
not  the  man,  hoped,  almost  against  hope,  that  such  conces- 
sions would  be  made  to  the  rebels  as  would  bridge  over  exist- 
ing difficulties,  and  restore  the  good  old  times  when  men 
could  vend  their  goods  and  principles — or  what  served  them 
in  lieu  thereof — without  being  annoyed  by  war  or  rumor  of 
war.  Another  would  be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  the 
most  positive  and  unqualified  denunciations  of  the  rebels, 
coupled  with  the  details  in  advance  of  dealing  with  them. 
Still  another  were  simply  curious  in  the  premises  to  know 
what  could  be  said.  Whisperings,  too,  that  the  address  would 
be  prevented  by  violence,  and  hints  of  assassination  were 
heard  here  and  there. 

All  necessary  precautions,  however,  having  been  taken  to 
guard  against  the  latter  contingencies,  Mr.  Lincoln  appeared 


THE   NEW   ADMINISTRATION.  93 

Inaugural  Address.  Protectiou  of  the  South.  Chicago  Resolution. 

at  the  east  front  of  the  capitol,  and  received,  at  the  hour  ap- 
pointed, the  oath  of  office  from  Chief  Justice  Taney.  Then 
followed,  in  a  clear,  steady  tone  of  voice,  in  the  presence  of 
more  than  ten  thousand  of  his  fellow-citizens,  the  address  : 

"  Fellow-Citizens  of  the  IJnited  States  : — In  compliance 
with  a  custom  as  old  as  the  Government  itself,  I  appear  be- 
fore you  to  address  you  briefly,  and  to  take,  in  your  presence, 
the  oath  prescribed  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
to  be  taken  by  the  President  before  he  enters  on  the  execution 
of  his  office. 

"  I  do  not  consider  it  necessary,  at  present,  for  me  to  dis- 
cuss those  matters  of  administration  about  which  there  is  no 
special  anxiety  or  excitement.  Apprehension  seems  to  exist 
among  the  people  of  the  Southern  States,  that,  by  the  acces- 
sion of  a  Republican  Administration,  their  property  and  their 
peace  and  personal  security  are  to  be  endangered.  There 
has  never  been  any  reasonable  cause  for  such  apprehension. 
Indeed,  the  most  ample  evidence  to  the  contrary  has  all  the 
while  existed,  and  been  open  to  their  inspection.  It  is  found 
in  nearly  all  the  published  speeches  of  him  who  now  addresses 
you.  I  do  but  quote  from  one  of  those  speeches,  wher.  I 
declare  that  '  I  have  no  purpose,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  in- 
terfere with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  States  where  it 
exists.'  I  believe  I  have  no  lawful  right  to  do  so  ;  and  I 
have  no  inclination  to  do  so.  Those  who  nominated  and 
elected  me,  did  so  with  the  full  knowledge  that  I  had  made 
this,  and  made  many  similar  declarations,  and  had  never 
recanted  them.  And,  more  than  this,  they  placed  in  the 
platform,  for  my  acceptance,  and  as  a  law  to  themselves  and 
to  me,  the  clear  and  emphatic  resolution  which  I  now  read  : 

"  'Resolved,  That  the  maintenance  inviolate  of  the  rights 
of  the  States,  and  especially  the  right  of  each  State  to  order 
and  control  its  own  domestic  institutions  according  to  its  own 
judgment  exclusively,  is  essential  to  that  balance  of  power 
on  which  the  perfection  and  endurance  of  our  political  fabric 


94  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LIXCOLX. 

Inaugural  Address.  Return  of  Fugitive  Slaves.  Congreseional  Oath. 

depend ;  and  we  denounce  the  lawless  invasion,  by  armed 
force,  of  the  soil  of  any  State  or  Territory,  no  matter  under 
what  pretext,  as  among  the  gravest  of  crimes.' 

"  I  now  reiterate  these  sentiments  ;  and  in  doing  so  I  only 
press  upon  the  public  attention  the  most  conclusive  evidence 
of  which  the  case  is  susceptible,  that  the  property,  peace  and 
security  of  no  section  are  to  be  in  anywise  endangered  by  the 
now  incoming  administration. 

"  I  add,  too,  that  all  the  protection  which,  consistently  with 
the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  can  be  given,  will  be  cheerfully 
given  to  all  the  States  when  lawfully  demanded,  for  whatever 
cause,  as  cheerfully  to  one  section  as  to  another. 

"  There  is  much  controversy  about  the  delivering  up  of 
fugitives  from  service  or  labor.  The  clause  I  now  read  is 
as  plainly  written  in  the  Constitution  as  any  other  of  its 
provisions  : 

"  '  No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State  under 
the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence 
of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such 
service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the 
party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due.' 

"  It  is  scarcely  questioned  that  this  provision  was  intended 
by  those  who  made  it  for  the  reclaiming  of  what  we  call  fugi- 
tive slaves ;  and  the  intention  of  the  lawgiver  is  the  law. 

"All  members  of  Congress  swear  their  support  to  the 
whole  Constitution — to  this  provision  as  well  as  any  other. 
To  the  proposition,  then,  that  slaves  whose  cases  come  within 
the  terms  of  this  clause  'shall  be  delivered  u^),'  their  oaths 
are  unanimous.  Ifow,  if  they  would  make  the  effort  in  good 
temper,  could  they  not,  with  nearly  equal  unanimity,  fra.me 
and  pass  a  law  by  means  of  which  to  keep  good  that  unani- 
mous oath  ? 

"  There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  whether  this  clause 
should  be  enforced  by  National  or  by  State  authority ;  but 
surely  that  difference  is  not  a  very  material  one.    If  the  slave 


THE    NEW    ADMINISTEATIOX.  95 


Inaugural  Address.  Sixteenth  President.  Disruption  of  the  Union 

is  to  be  surrendered,  it  can  be  of  but  little  consequence  to 
him  or  to  others  by  which  authority  it  is  done  ;  and  should 
any  one,  in  any  case,  be  content  that  this  oath  shall  go  un- 
kept  on  a  merely  unsubstantial  controversy  as  to  how  it  shall 
be  kept  ? 

"Again,  in  any  law  upon  this  subject,  ought  not  all  the  safe- 
guards of  liberty  known  in  civilized  and  humane  jurisprudence 
to  be  introduced,  so  that  a  free  man  be  not,  in  any  case,  sur- 
rendered as  a  slave  ?  And  might  it  not  be  well  at  the  same 
time  to  provide  by  law  for  the  enforcement  of  that  clause  in  the 
Constitution  which  guarantees  that  '  the  citizens  of  each  State 
shall  be  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens 
in  the  several  States  ?  ' 

"  I  take  the  official  oath  to-day  with  no  mental  reservations, 
and  with  no  purpose  to  construe  the  Constitution  or  laws  by 
any  hypercritical  rules ;  and  while  I  do  not  choose  now  to 
specify  particular  acts  of  Congress  as  proper  to  be  enforced,  I 
do  suggest  that  it  will  be  much  safer  for  all,  both  in  official 
and  private  stations,  to  conform  to  and  abide  by  all  those  acts 
which  stand  unrepealed,  than  to  violate  any  of  them,  trusting 
to  find  impunity  in  having  them  held  to  be  unconstitutional. 

"  It  is  seventy-two  years  since  the  first  inauguration  of  a 
President  under  our  National  Constitution.  During  that 
period,  fifteen  different  and  very  distinguished  citizens  have  in 
succession  administered  the  executive  branch  of  the  Govern- 
ment. They  have  conducted  it  through  many  perils,  and 
generally  with  great  success.  Yet,  with  all  this  scope  for 
precedent,  I  now  enter  upon  the  same  task,  for  the  brief  con- 
stitutional term  of  four  years,  under  great  and  peculiar  diffi- 
culties. 

"  A  disruption  of  the  Federal  Union,  heretofore  only  men- 
aced, is  now  formidably  attempted.  I  hold  that  in  the  contem- 
plation of  universal  law  and  of  the  Constitution,  the  Union  of 
these  States  is  perpetual.  Perpetuity  is  implied,  if  not  ex- 
pressed, in  the  fundamental  law  of  all  national  governments. 


96  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Inaugural.  Union  older  than  Constitution.  Secession  Illegal. 

It  is  safe  to  assert  that  no  government  proper  ever  had  a  pro- 
vision in  its  organic  law  for  its  own  termination.  Continue 
to  execute  all  the  express  provisions  of  our  National  Consti- 
tution, and  the  Union  will  endure  forever,  it  being  impossible 
to  destroy  it,  except  by  some  action  not  provided  for  in  the 
instrument  itself. 

"  Again,  if  the  United  States  be  not  a  government  proper, 
but  an  association  of  States  in  the  nature  of  a  contract  merely, 
can  it,  as  a  contract,  be  peaceably  unmade  by  less  than  all  the 
parties  who  made  it  ?  One  party  to  a  contract  may  violate 
it — break  it,  so  to  speak ;  but  does  it  not  require  all  to  law- 
fully rescind  it  ?  Descending  from  these  general  principles, 
we  find  the  proposition  that  in  legal  contemplation  the  Union 
is  perpetual,  confirmed  by  the  history  of  the  Union  itself. 

"  The  Union  is  much  older  than  the  Constitution.  It  was 
formed,  in  fact,  by  the  Articles  of  Association  in  IT 74.  It 
was  matured  and  continued  in  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence in  1176.  It  was  further  matured,  and  the  faith  of  all 
the  then  thirteen  States  expressly  plighted  and  engaged  that 
it  should  be  perpetual,  by  the  Articles  of  the  Confederation,  in 
1778;  and,  finally,  in  1787,  one  of  the  declaimed  objects  for 
ordaining  and  establishing  the  Constitution  was  to  form  a 
more  perfect  Union.  But  if  the  destruction  of  the  Union  by 
one  or  by  a  part  only  of  the  States  be  lawfully  possible,  the 
Union  is  less  than  before,  the  Constitution  having  lost  the  vital 
element  of  perpetuity. 

"  It  follows  from  these  views  that  no  State,  upon  its  own  mere 
motion,  can  lawfully  get  out  of  the  Union  ;  that  resolves  and 
ordinances  to  that  effect,  are  legally  void  ;  and  that  acts  of 
violence  within  any  State  or  States  against  the  authority  of 
the  United  States,  are  insurrectionary  or  revolutionary,  accord- 
ing to  circumstances. 

"  I  therefore  consider  that,  in  view  of  the  Constitution  and 
the  laws,  the  Union  is  unbroken,  and,  to  the  extent  of  my 
ability,  I  shall  take  care,  as  the  Constitution  itself  expressly 


BEFORE   THE   NATION,  97 

Iniiugural.  Use  of  President's  Power.  Security  of  tlio  People. 

enjoins  upon  me,  that  the  laws  of  the  Union  shall  be  faithfully 
execated  in  all  the  States.  Doing  this,  which  I  deem  to  be 
only  a  simple  duty  on  my  part,  I  shall  perfectly  perform  it, 
so  far  as  is  practicable,  unless  my  rightful  masters,  the  Ameri- 
can people,  shall  withold  the  requisition,  or  in  some  authori- 
tative manner  direct  the  contrary. 

"  I  trust  this  will  not  be  regarded  as  a  menace,  but  only 
as  the  declared  purpose  of  the  Union  that  it  will  constitution- 
ally defend  and  maintain  itself. 

"  In  doing  this  there  need  be  no  bloodshed  or  violence,  and 
there  shall  be  none  unless  it  is  forced  upon  the  National 
authority. 

"  The  power  confided  to  me  will  he  used  to  hold,  occupy,  and 
possess  the  property  and  places  belonging  to  the  Government, 
and  collect  the  duties  and  imposts;  but  beyond  what  may  be 
necessary  for  these  objects  there  will  be  no  invasion,  no  using 
of  force  against  or  among  the  people  anywhere. 

"  Where  hostility  to  the  United  States  shall  be  so  great  and 
so  universal  as  to  prevent  competent  resident  citizens  from 
holding  Federal  offices,  there  will  be  no  attempt  to  force  ob- 
noxious strangers  among  the  people  that  object.  While  the 
strict  legal  right  may  exist  of  the  Government  to  enforce  the 
exercise  of  these  offices,  the  att'^mpt  to  do  so  would  be  so 
irritating,  and  so  nearly  impracticable  withal,  that  I  deem  it 
best  to  forego,  for  the  time,  the  uses  of  such  offices. 

"  The  mails,  unless  repelled,  will  continue  to  be  furnished  in 
all  parts  of  the  Union. 

"  So  far  as  possible,  the  people  everywhere  shall  have  that 
sense  of  perfect  security  which  is  most  favorable  to  calm 
thought  and  reflection. 

"  The  course  here  indicated  will  be  followed,  unless  current 
events  and  experience  shall  show  a  modification  or  change  to 
be  proper ;  and  in  every  case  and  exigency  my  best  discretion 
will  be  exercised  according  to  the  circumstances  actually  ex- 
isting, and  with  a  view  and  hope  of  a  peaceful  solution  of  the 
t 


98  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LIIsrCOLN. 


Inaugnral.  Appeal  to  Friends  of  the  Union.  Rights  of  Mincritiea. 

National  troubles,  and  the  restoration  of  fraternal  sympathies 
and  affections. 

"  That  there  are  persons,  in  one  section  or  another,  who 
seek  to  destroy  the  Union  at  all  events,  and  are  glad  of  any 
pretext  to  do  it,  I  will  neither  afi&rm  nor  deny.  But  if  there 
be  such,  I  need  address  no  word  to  them. 

"  To  those,  however,  who  really  love  the  Union,  may  I  not 
speak,  before  entering  upon  so  grave  a  matter  as  the  destruc- 
tion of  our  National  fabric,  with  all  its  benefits,  its  memories, 
and  its  hopes  ?  Would  it  not  be  well  to  ascertain  why  we  do 
it  ?  Will  you  hazard  so  desperate  a  step,  while  any  portion 
of  the  ills  you  fly  from  have  no  real  existence  ?  Will  you,  while 
the  certain  ills  you  fly  to  are  greater  than  all  the  real  ones 
you  fly  from  ?  Will  you  risk  the  commission  of  so  fearful  a 
mistake  ?  All  profess  to  be  content  in  the  Union  if  all  con- 
stitutional rights  can  be  maintained.  Is  it  true,  then,  that 
any  right,  plainly  written  in  the  Constitution,  has  been 
denied  ?  I  think  not.  Happily  the  human  mind  is  so  con- 
stituted, that  no  party  can  reach  to  the  audacity  of  doing  this. 

"  Think,  if  you  can,  of  a  single  instance  in  which  a  plainly- 
written  provision  of  the  Constitution  has  ever  been  denied. 
If,  by  the  mere  force  of  numbers,  a  majority  should  deprive 
a  minority  of  any  clearly-written  constitutional  right,  it  might, 
in  a  moral  point  of  view,  justify  revolution ;  it  certainly 
would,  if  such  right  were  a  vital  one.  But  such  is  not  our 
case. 

"All  the  vital  rights  of  minorities  and  of  individuals  are  so 
plainly  assured  to  them  by  affirmations  and  negations,  guar- 
anties and  prohibitions  in  the  Constitution,  that  controversies 
never  arise  concerning  them.  But  no  organic  law  can  ever 
be  framed  with  a  provision  specifically  applicable  to  every 
question  which  may  occur  in  practical  administration.  No 
foresight  can  anticipate,  nor  any  document  of  reasonable 
length  contain,  express  provisions  for  all  possible  questions. 
Shall  fugitives  from  labor  be  surrendered  by  National  or  by 


THE   NEW  ADMINISTRATION.  99 

Inaugural  Acquiescence  Necessary.  Secession  is  Anarchy. 

State  authorities  ?  The  Constitution  does  not  expressly  say. 
Must  Congress  protect  slavery  in  the  Territories  ?  The 
Constitution  does  not  expressly  say.  From  questions  of  this 
class,  spring  all  our  constitutional  controversies,  and  we 
divide  upon  them  into  majorities  and  minorities. 

"  If  the  minority  will  not  acquiesce,  the  majority  must,  or 
the  Government  must  cease.  There  is  no  alternative  for 
continuing  the  Government  but  acquiescence  on  the  one  side 
or  the  other.  If  a  minority  in  such  a  case  will  secede  rather 
than  acquiesce,  they  make  a  precedent  which,  in  turn,  will 
ruin  and  divide  them,  for  a  minority  of  their  own  will  secede 
from  them  whenever  a  majority  refuses  to  be  controlled  by 
such  a  minority.  For  instance,  why  not  any  portion  of  a 
new  Confederacy,  a  year  or  two  hence,  arbitrarily  secede 
again,  precisely  as  portions  of  the  present  Union  now  claim 
to  secede  from  it  ?  All  who  cherish  disunion  sentiments  are 
now  being  educated  to  the  exact  temper  of  doing  this.  Is 
there  such  perfect  identity  of  interests  among  the  States  to 
compose  a  new  Union  as  to  produce  harmony  only,  and  pre 
vent  renewed  secession  ?  Plainly,  the  central  idea  of  seces- 
sion is  the  essence  of  anarchy. 

"A  majority  held  in  restraint  by  constitutional  check  and 
limitation,  and  always  changing  easily  with  deliberate  changes 
of  popular  opinions  and  sentiments,  is  the  only  true  sovereign 
of  a  free  people.  Whoever  rejects  it,  does,  of  necessity,  fly  to 
anarchy  or  to  despotism.  Unanimity  is  impossible  ;  the  rule 
of  a  majority,  as  a  permanent  arrangement,  is  wholly  inad- 
missible. So  that,  rejecting  the  majority  principle,  anarchy 
or  despotism,  in  some  form,  is  all  that  is  left. 

"  I  do  not  forget  the  position  assumed  by  some  that  con- 
stitutional questions  are  to  be  decided  by  the  Supreme  Court, 
nor  do  I  deny  that  such  decisions  must  be  binding  in  any 
case  upon  the  parties  to  a  suit,  as  to  the  object  of  that  suit, 
while  they  are  also  entitled  to  a  very  high  respect  and  con- 
sideration in  all  parallel  cases  by  all  other  departments  of  the 


100  LIFE   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN, 

Inangnral.  Ducisiou  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Separation  Impossible. 

Government ;  and  while  it  is  obviously  possible  that  such 
decision  may  be  erroneous  in  any  given  case,  still  the  evil 
effect  following  it,  being  limited  to  that  particular  case,  with 
the  chance  that  it  may  be  overruled  and  never  become  a 
precedent  for  other  cases,  can  better  be  borne  than  could  the 
evils  of  a  different  practice. 

"At  the  same  time  the  candid  citizen  must  confess  that  if 
the  policy  of  the  Government  upon  the  vital  question  affecting 
the  whole  people  is  to  be  irrevocably  fixed  by  the  decisions 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  instant  they  are  made,  as  in 
ordinary  litigation  between  parties  in  personal  actions,  the 
people  will  have  ceased  to  be  their  own  masters,  unless 
having  to  that  extent  practically  resigned  their  Government 
into  the  hands  of  that  eminent  tribunal. 

"  Nor  is  there  in  this  view  any  assault  upon  the  Court  or 
the  Judges.  It  is  a  duty  from  which  they  may  not  shrink,  to 
decide  cases  properly  brought  before  them  ;  and  it  is  no  fault 
of  theirs  if  others  seek  to  turn  their  decisions  to  political  pur- 
poses. One  section  of  our  country  believes  slavery  is  right 
and  ought  to  be  extended,  while  the  other  believes  it  is  wrong 
and  ought  not  to  be  extended  ;  and  this  is  the  only  substantial 
dispute  ;  and  the  fugitive  slave  clause  of  the  Constitution,  and 
the  law  for  the  suppression  of  the  foreign  slave-trade,  are 
each  as  well  enforced,  perhaps,  as  any  law  can  ever  be  in  a 
community  where  the  moral  sense  of  the  people  imperfectly 
supports  the  law  itself.  The  great  body  of  the  people  abide 
by  the  dry  legal  obligation  in  both  cases,  and  a  few  break 
over  in  each.  This,  I  think,  can  not  be  perfectly  cured,  and 
it  would  be  worse  in  both  cases  after  the  separation  of  the 
sections  than  before.  The  foreign  slave-trade,  now  im- 
perfectly suppressed,  would  be  ultimately  revived,  without 
restriction,  in  one  section ;  while  fugitive  slaves,  now  only 
partially  surrendered,  would  not  be  surrendered  at  all  by  the 
other. 

"  Physically  speaking  we  can  not  separate ;'  we  can  not 


THE   NEW   ADMINISTRATION".  101 

Inuugiival.  People  Sovereign.  Coiistitutioual  AmenJment. 

remove  our  respective  sections  from  each  other,  nor  build  an 
impassable  wall  between  them.  A  husband  and  wife  may  be 
divorced,  and  go  out  of  the  presence  and  beyond  the  reach 
of  each  other,  but  the  different  parts  of  our  country  can  not 
do  this.  They  can  not  but  remain  face  to  face  ;  and  inter- 
course, either  amicable  or  hostile,  must  continue  between 
them.  Is  it  possible,  then,  to  make  that  intercourse  more 
advantageous  or  more  satisfactory  after  separation  than 
before  ?  Can  aliens  make  treaties  easier  than  friends  can 
make  laws  ?  Can  treaties  be  more  faithfully  enforced  be- 
tween aliens  than  laws  can  among  friends  ?  Suppose  you  go 
to  war,  you  can  not  fight  always ;  and  when,  after  much  loss 
on  both  sides,  and  no  gain  on  either,  you  cease  fighting,  the 
identical  questions  as  to  terms  of  intercourse  are  again  upon 
you. 

"  This  country,  with  its  institutions,  belongs  to  the  people 
who  inhabit  it.  "Whenever  they  shall  grow  weary  of  the 
existing  government,  they  can  exercise  their  constitutional 
right  of  amending,  or  their  revolutionary  right  to  dismember 
or  overthrow  it.  I  can  not  be  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  many 
worthy  and  patriotic  citizens  are  desirous  of  having  the 
National  Constitution  amended.  While  I  make  no  recom- 
mendation of  amendment,  I  fully  recognize  the  full  authority 
of  the  people  over  the  whole  subject,  to  be  exercised  in 
either  of  the  modes  prescribed  in  the  instrument  itself,  and  I 
should,  under  existing  circumstances,  favor  rather  than 
oppose,  a  fair  opportunity  being  afforded  the  people  to 
act  upon  it. 

"I  will  venture  to  add,  that  to  me  the  Convention  mode 
seems  preferable,  in  that  it  allows  amendments  to  originate 
with  the  people  themselves,  instead  of  only  permitting  them 
to  take  or  reject  propositions  originated  by  others  not  especi- 
ally chosen  for  the  purpose,  and  which  might  not  be  precisely 
such  as  they  would  wish  either  to  accept  or  refuse.     I  under- 


102  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LIXCOLX. 

Inaugural.  President's  Duty.  Serious  iDJury  Impossible. 

stand  that  a  proposed  amendment  to  the  Constitution  (which 
amendment,  however,  I  have  not  seen)  has  passed  Congress, 
to  the  eifect  that  the  Federal  Government  shall  never  inter- 
fere with  the  domestic  institutions  of  States,  including  that 
of  persons  held  to  service.  To  avoid  misconstruction  of 
what  I  have  said,  I  depart  from  my  purpose  not  to  speak  of 
particular  amendments,  so  far  as  to  say  that,  holding  such  a 
provision  to  now  be  implied  constitutional  law,  I  have  no 
objection  to  its  being  made  express  and  irrevocable. 

"  The  Chief  Magistrate  derives  all  his  authority  from  the 
people,  and  they  have  conferred  none  upon  him  to  fix  the 
terms  for  the  separation  of  the  States.  The  people  them- 
selves, also,  can  do  this  if  they  choose,  but  the  Executive, 
as  such,  has  nothing  to  do  with  it.  His  duty  is  to  administer 
the  present  government  as  it  came  to  his  hands,  and  to 
transmit  it  unimpaired  by  him  to  his  successor.  Why  should 
there  not  be  a  patient  confidence  in  the  ultimate  justice  of 
the  people  ?  Is  there  any  better  or  equal  hope  in  the  world  ? 
In  our  present  differences  is  either  party  without  faith  of 
being  in  the  right  ?  If  the  Almighty  Ruler  of  nations,  with 
his  eternal  truth  and  justice,  be  on  your  side  of  the  North, 
or  on  yours  of  the  South,  that  truth  and  that  justice  will 
surely  prevail  by  the  judgment  of  this  great  tribunal,  the 
American  people.  By  the  frame  of  the  government  under 
which  we  live,  this  same  people  have  wisely  given  their 
public  servants  but  little  power  for  mischief,  and  have  with 
equal  wisdom  provided  for  the  return  of  that  little  to  their 
own  hands  at  very  short  intervals.  While  the  people  retain 
their  virtue  and  vigilance,  no  administration,  by  any  extreme 
wickedness  or  folly,  can  very  seriously  injure  the  government 
in  the  short  space  of  four  years. 

"  My  countrymen,  one  and  all,  think  calmly  and  well  upon 
this  whole  subject.  Nothing  valuable  can  be  lost  by  taking 
time. 


THE    NEW    ADMINISTRATIOJSr.  10'6 

Inaugural.  Precipitate  Action  Unwarrantable.        A  Government  at  Last. 

"  If  there  be  an  object  to  hurry  any  of  you,  in  hot  haste, 
to  a  step  which  you  would  never  take  deliberately,  that 
object  will  be  frustrated  by  taking  time  :  but  no  good  object 
can  be  frustrated  by  it. 

"  Such  of  you  as  are  now  dissatisfied,  still  have  the  old 
Constitution  unimpaired,  and  on  the  sensitive  point,  the  laws 
of  your  own  framing  under  it ;  while  the  new  administration 
will  have  no  immediate  power,  if  it  would,  to  change  either. 

"  If  it  were  admitted  that  you  who  are  dissatisfied  hold 
the  right  side  in  the  dispute,  there  is  still  no  single  reason  for 
precipitate  action.  Intelligence,  patriotism,  Christianity, 
and  a  firm  reliance  on  Him  Avho  has  never  yet  forsaken  this 
favored  land,  are  still  competent  to  adjust,  in  the  best  way, 
all  our  present  difficulties. 

"  In  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow-countrymen,  and 
not  in  mine,  is  the  momentous  issue  of  civil  war.  The  Gov- 
ernment will  not  assail  you. 

"  You  can  have  no  conflict  without  being  yourselves  tho 
aggressors.  You  have  no  oath  registered  in  Heaven  to  de- 
stroy the  Government ;  while  I  shall  have  the  most  solemn 
one  to  '  preserve,  protect,  and  defend'  it. 

"I  am  loath  to  close.     We  are  not  enemies,  but  friends 
We    must    not   be    enemies.     Though    passion    may   have 
strained,  it  must  not  break  our  bonds  of  affection. 

"  The  mystic  cords  of  memory,  stretching  from  every  battle- 
field and  patriot  grave  to  every  living  heart  and  hearthstone 
all  over  this  broad  land,  will  yet  swell  the  chorus  of  the 
Union,  when  again  touched,  as  surely  they  will  be,  by  the 
better  angels  of  our  nature." 

One  point  was  established,  at  least,  by  this  inaugural, 
whatever  uncertainties  might  cluster  about  it — we  had,  at 
last,  a  Government.  No  Buchanan  ruled  the  hour.  Loyal 
men  of  every  shade  breathed  more  freely.  At  the  same  time, 
the  whole  drift  was  toward  securing,  if  possible,  an  honorable 
reconciliation.     If,  after  this  lucid,  temperate  statement  of 


104  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

The  New  Cabinet.  Confederate  Commissioners.  Stephens's  Speech. 

tlie  plans  and  purposes  of  the  new  Administration,  the  blow 
must  fall,  which  all  wished  to  avoid,  it  was  encouraging  to 
feel — as  every  one  who  heard  Mr.  Lincoln  on  that  eventful 
day  must  have  felt — that  a  man  was  at  the  helm  who  had 
firm  faith  that  the  organic  law,  so  far  from  providing  for  the 
dissolution  of  the  Union,  had  vitality  and  force  within  itself 
sufficient  to  defend  the  nation  against  dangers  from  within  as 
well  as  from  without. 

The  announcement  of  the  President's  cabinet,  likewise — 
composed,  as  it  was,  of  the  ablest  men  in  his  own  party,  the 
majority  of  whom  had  been  deemed  worthy  of  presentation 
as  candidates  for  the  high  office  which  he  held — imparted 
confidence  to  all  who  wished  well  to  the  country.  The  able 
pen  of  the  Secretary  of  State  was  at  once  called  into  requisi- 
tion to  communicate,  through  the  newly  appointed  ministers 
abroad,  the  true  state  of  affairs  to  the  European  powers.  As 
speedily  as  possible  the  Departments  were  purged  of  disloyal 
officials,  although  the  deceptions  and  subterfuges  which  consti- 
tuted a  goodly  portion  of  the  stock  in  trade  of  the  rebellion  ren- 
dered this  a  work  of  more  time  than  was  satisfactory  to  many. 

The  Davis  dynasty,  at  Montgomery,  having,  on  the  9th  of 
March,  passed  an  act  to  organize  a  Confederate  army,  two 
persons — one  from  Alabama  and  the  other  from  Georgia — 
announced  themselves,  three  days  later,  as  "  Confederate 
Commissioners,"  accredited  for  the  purpose  of  negotiating  a 
treaty.  The  President  declined  to  recognize  these  "  Commis- 
sioners," who  were  referred  to  a  copy  of  his  inaugural  en- 
'losed  for  a  full  statement  of  his  views. 

On  the  21st  of  March,  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  of  Georgia, 
Vice-President  of  the  Montgomery  traitors,  up  to  that  time 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  moderate — as  he  certainly  was 
one  of  the  ablest — of  the  conspirators,  in  a  speech  at  Savan- 
nah, silenced  all  questionings  as  to  the  intent  of  himself  and 
co-workers. 

He  said  on  that  occasion  : 


THE   NEW  ADMINISTRATION.  105 

Early  Statesmen  Wrong.        The  Confederate  Constitution.  Slavery  the  Foundation. 

"  The  new  Constitution  (that  adopted  at  Montgomery)  has 
put  at  rest  forever  all  the  agitating  questions  relating  to  our 
peculiar  institutions — African  slavery  as  it  exists  among  us 
— the  proper  status  of  the  negro  in  our  form  of  civilization. 
This  was  the  immediate  cause  of  the  late  rupture  and  present 
revolution.  Jefferson,  in  his  forecast,  had  anticipated  this 
as  the  rock  upon  which  the  old  Union  would  split.  He  was 
right.  What  was  conjecture  with  him,  is  now  a  realized  fact. 
But  whether  he  fully  comprehended  the  great  truth  upon 
which  that  rock  stood  and  stands,  may  be  doubted.  The 
prevailing  ideas,  entertained  by  him  and  most  of  the  leading 
statesmen,  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the  old  Constitu- 
tion, were,  that  the  enslavement  of  the  African  was  in  viola- 
tion of  the  laws  of  nature ;  that  it  was  wrong  in  principle, 
socially,  morally,  and  politically.  It  was  an  evil  they  knew 
not  well  how  to  deal  with ;  but  the  general  opinion  of  the 
men  of  that  day  was,  that,  somehow  or  other,  in  the  order  of 
Providence,  the  institution  would  be  evanescent  and  pass 
away.         ******* 

"  Our  new  Government  is  founded  upon  exactly  the  oppo- 
site ideas.  Its  foundations  are  laid,  its  corner-stone  rests 
upon  the  great  truth  that  the  negro  is  not  equal  to  the  white 
man  ;  that  slavery,  subordination  to  the  superior  race,  is  his 
natural  and  normal  condition.  This,  our  new  Government, 
is  the  first  in  the  history  of  the  world  based  upon  this  great 
physical,  philosophical,  and  moral  truth.  *  *  *  *  It  is 
upon  this,  as  I  have  stated,  oar  social  fabric  is  firmly  planted ; 
and  I  can  not  permit  myself  to  doubt  the  ultimate  success  of 
a  full  recognition  of  this  principle  throughout  the  civilized  and 
enlightened  world.  *  *  *  *  This  stone,  which  was  re- 
jected by  the  first  builders,  '  is  become  the  chief  stone  of  the 
corner'  in  our  new  edifice." 

On  the  13th  of  April,  the  President  was  waited  upon  by  a 
committee  from  a  Convention  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  which 
Convention  was  discussing  the  question  whether  to  go  with 


106  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM    LIXCOLN. 


Virginia  Committee.  President's  Reply^ Ref,is  to  Inaugural. 

the  States  already  in  rebellion,  or  to  remain  in  the  Union,  for 
the  sake  of  furthering  the  ends  of  the  rebels.  The  object  of 
the  visit,  and  its  result,  may  be  determined  from  Mr.  Lincoln's 
response  : 

"  Gentlemen  : — As  a  committee  of  the  Virginia  Conven- 
tion, now  in  session,  you  present  me  a  preamble  and  resolu- 
tion, in  these  words  : 

"  '  Whereas,  In  the  opinion  of  this  Convention,  the  uncer- 
tainty which  prevails  in  the  public  mind  as  to  the  policy 
which  the  Federal  Executive  intends  to  pursue  towards  the 
seceded  States  is  extremely  injurious  to  the  industrial  and 
commercial  interests  of  the  country,  tends  to  keep  up  an  ex- 
citement which  is  unfavorable  to  the  adjustment  of  the  pend- 
ing difficulties,  and  threatens  a  disturbance  of  the  public 
peace  ;  therefore, 

"  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  delegates  be  ap- 
pointed to  wait  on  the  President  of  the  United  States,  present 
to  him  this  preamble,  and  respectfully  ask  him  to  communi- 
cate to  this  Convention  the  policy  which  the  Federal  Execu- 
tive intends  to  pursue  in  regard  to  the  Confederate  States.' 

"  In  answer,  I  have  to  say,  that  having,  at  the  beginning 
of  my  official  term,  expressed  my  intended  policy  as  plainly 
as  I  was  able,  it  is  with  deep  regret  and  mortification  I  now 
learn  there  is  great  and  injurious  uncertainty  in  the  public 
mind  as  to  what  that  policy  is,  and  what  course  I  intend  to 
pursue.  Not  having  as  yet  seen  occasion  to  change,  it  is  now 
my  purpose  to  pursue  the  course  marked  out  in  the  inaugural 
address.  I  commend  a  careful  consideration  of  the  whole 
document  as  the  best  expression  I  can  give  to  my  purposes. 
As,  I  then  and  therein  said,  I  now  repeat,  '  The  power  con- 
fided in  me,  will  be  used  to  hold,  occupy,  and  possess  prop- 
erty and  places  belonging  to  the  Government,  and  to  collect 
the  duties  and  imposts ;  but  beyond  what  is  necessary  for 
these   objects,  there  will  be  no  invasion,  no  using  of  force 


THE  NEW  ADMINISTRATION.  107 

Attack  on  Sumter.  United  States  Mails.  Sumter's  Fall. 

against  or  among  the  people  anywhere.'  Bj  the  words 
'  property  and  places  belonging  to  the  Gov^ernment,'  I  chiefly 
allude  to  the  military  posts  and  property  which  were  in  pos- 
session of  the  government  when  it  came  into  my  hands.  But 
if,  as  now  appears  to  be  true,  in  pursuit  of  a  purpose  to  drive 
the  United  States  authority  from  these  places,  an  unprovoked 
assault  has  been  made  upon  Fort  Sumter,  I  shall  hold  myself 
at  liberty  to  repossess  it,  if  I  can,  like  places  which  had  been 
seized  before  the  Government  was  devolved  upon  me,  and  in 
any  event  I  shall,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  repel  force  by 
force.  In  case  it  proves  true  that  Fort  Sumter  has  been 
assaulted,  as  is  reported,  I  shall,  perhaps,  cause  the  United 
States  mails  to  be  withdrawn  from  all  the  States  which  claim 
to  have  seceded,  believing  that  the  commencement  of  actual 
war  against  the  Government  justifies  and  possibly  demands 
it.  I  scarcely  need  to  say  that  I  consider  the  military  forts 
and  property,  situated  within  the  States  which  claim  to  have 
seceded,  as  yet  belonging  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  as  much  as  they  did  before  the  supposed  secession. 
Whatever  else  I  may  do  for  the  purpose,  I  shall  not  attempt 
to  collect  the  duties  and  imposts  by  any  armed  invasion  of 
any  part  of  the  country — not  meaning  by  this,  however,  that 
I  may  not  land  a  force  deemed  necessary  to  relieve  a  fort  upon 
the  border  of  the  country.  Froto  the  fact  that  I  have  quoted 
a  part  of  the  inaugural  address,  it  must  not  be  inferred  that  I 
repudiate  any  other  part,  the  whole  of  which  I  reaffirm,  ex- 
cept so  far  as  what  I  now  say  of  the  mails  may  be  regarded 
as  a  modification." 

Fort  Sumter  fell  on  the  day  following  the  reception  of  these 
commissioners,  after  every  effort,  consistent  with  the  means 
at  the  disposal  of  the  government,  had  been  made  to  prevent 
what  then  seemed  a  catastrophe.  This  action  could  bear  but 
one  interpretation.  A  reconciliation  of  difficulties  was  utterly 
Impracticable.     An   appeal  had   been  made  to  the   sword. 


108  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Effects  of  Sumter.  Patriots  Armed.  Call  for  Troops. 


The  power  and  authority  of  the  United  States  had  been  defied 
and  insulted.  No  loyal  man  could  now  hesitate.  If,  how- 
ever, there  were  any  who,  even  then,  clung  to  the  fallacy  that 
compromise  could  save  us,  Abraham  Lincoln  was  not  of  the 
number. 


CHAPTER  YII. 

PREPARING    FOR    WAR. 

Effects  of  Sumter's  Fall — President's  Call  for  Troops— Response  in  the  Loyal  States — In 
the  Border  States— Baltimore  Riot— Maryland's  Position- President's  Letter  to  Mary- 
land Authorities — Blockade  Proclamation — Additional  Proclamation — Comments  Abroad 
— Second  Call  for  Troops — Special  Order  for  Florida — Military  Movements. 

Sumter  fell,  but  the  nation  arose.  With  one  mind  the 
Free  States  determined  that  the  rebellion  must  be  put  down. 
All  were  ablaze  with  patriotic  fire.  The  traitors  at  heart, 
who  lurked  in  the  loyal  States,  found  it  a  wise  precaution  to 
float  with  the  current.  The  shrewder  ones  among  them  saw 
well  how  such  a  course  would  give  them  vantage-ground 
when  the  reaction,  which  they  hoped,  and  for  which  in  secret 
they  labored,  should  come.  But  the  great  mass  of  the  people 
would  not  have  admitted  the  possibility  of  any  reaction — 
action  was  to  continue  the  order  of  the  day  until  the  business 
in  hand  was  finished. 

On  the  15th  of  April,  1861,  the  President  issued  his  first 
proclamation : 

"  Whereas,  The  laws  of  the  United  States  have  been  for 
some  time  past,  and  now  are  opposed,  and  the  execution 
thereof  obstructed,  in  the  States  of  South  Carolina,  Georgia, 
Alabama,  Florida,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Texas,  by 
combinations  too  powerful  to  be  suppressed  by  the  ordinary 
course  of  judicial  proceedings,  or  by  the  powers  vested  in 
the  marshals  by  law ;  now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln, 


PREPARING   FOR   WAR.  109 

Call  for  Troops.  First  Duty.  Extra  Session  of  Congress. 

President  of  the  United  States,  in  virtue  of  the  power  in  me 
vested  by  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  have  thought  fit  to 
call  forth,  and  hereby  do  call  forth,  the  militia  of  the  several 
States  of  the  Union  to  the  aggregate  number  of  seventy-five 
thousand,  in  order  to  suppress  said  combinations  and  to  cause 
the  laws  to  be  duly  executed. 

"  The  details  for  this  object  will  be  immediately  communi- 
cated to  the  State  authorities  through  the  War  Department. 
I  appeal  to  all  loyal  citizens  to  favor,  facilitate,  and  aid  this 
effort  to  maintain  the  honor,  the  integrity,  and  existence  of 
our  national  Union,  and  the  perpetuity  of  popular  govern- 
ment, and  to  redress  wi'ongs  already  long  enough  endured. 
I  deem  it  proper  to  say  that  the  first  service  assigned  to  the 
forces  hereby  called  forth,  will  probably  be  to  repossess  the 
forts,  places,  and  property  which  have  been  seized  from  the 
Union  ;  and  in  every  event  the  utmost  care  will  be  observed, 
consistently  with  the  objects  aforesaid,  to  avoid  any  devasta- 
tion, any  destruction  of,  or  interfei-ence  with  propei'ty,  or  any 
disturbance  of  peaceful  citizens  of  any  part  of  the  country; 
and  I  hereby  command  the  persons  composing  the  combina- 
tions aforesaid,  to  disperse  and  retire  peaceably  to  their 
respective  abodes,  within  twenty  days  from  this  date. 

"  Deeming  that  the  present  condition  of  public  affairs  pre- 
sents an  extraordinary  occasion,  I  do  hereby,  in  virtue  of  the 
power  in  me  vested  by  the  Constitution,  convene  both  Houses 
of  Congress.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  are,  there- 
fore, summoned  to  assemble  at  their  respective  chambers  at 
twelve  o'clock,  noon,  on  Thursday,  the  fourth  day  of  July 
next,  then  and  there  to  consider  and  determine  such  measures 
as,  in  their  wisdom,  the  public  safety  and  interest  may  seem 
to  demand. 

"  In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  fifteenth  day  of 
April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 


110  LIFE    OP  ABEAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Response  to  the  Call.  Border  Slave  States.  Fu-st  Blood  Shed. 

and  sixty-one,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States 
the  eighty-fifth. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

In  response  to  this  proclamation  enthusiastic  public  meet- 
ings were  held  throughout  the  loyal  States ;  all  party  lines 
seemed  obliterated ;  enlistments  were  almost  universal ; 
Washington,  which  was  at  one  time  in  imminent  danger,  was 
soon  considered  amply  defended.  The  majority  entertained 
no  doubt  that  with  the  force  summoned  the  rebellion  would 
be  nipped  in  the  bud ;  the  more  sagacious  minority  shook 
their  heads,  and  wished  that  a  million  of  men  had  been 
asked. 

An  excellent  opportunity  was  afforded  to  the  border  slave 
States  for  pronouncing  their  election — whether  to  stand  by 
the  Government,  or,  practically,  to  furnish  aid  and  comfort  to 
the  rebels.  Magoffin,  Governor  of  Kentucky,  was  soon  heard 
from  :  "Kentucky  will  furnish  no  troops,"  said  he,  "for  the 
wicked  purpose  of  subduing  her  sister  Southern  States." 
Letcher,  of  Virginia  :  "  The  militia  of  Virginia  will  not  be 
furnished  to  the  powers  at  Washington  for  any  such  case  or 
purpose  as  they  have  in  view  ;"  and  on  the  11th,  the  State 
was  dragooned  into  passing,  in  secret,  an  ordinance  of  seces- 
sion, and  immediately  commenced  those  warlike  preparations, 
whose  evil  fruits  she  was  destined  so  soon  and  in  so  much 
sorrow  to  reap.  The  Executives  of  Tennessee  and  North 
Carolina  refused  compliance  ;  and  those  States,  together  with 
Arkansas,  went  over  to  the  "  Confederacy." 

How  was  the  call  for  troops  received  by  the  rebel  conclave 
at  Montgomery  ?     They  laughed. 

The  first  blood  shed  in  the  war  was  in  the  streets  of  Balti- 
more, on  the  19th  of  April.  Massachusetts  troops,  passing 
through  that  city  for  the  defence  of  the  common  capitol,  were 
attacked  by  a  mob,  instigated  and  encouraged  by  men  of 


PEEPARING   FOR   WAR.  Ill 

Maryland's  Position.  Letter  to  Maryland  Authoritiea. 

property  and  social  standing.  The  State  hung  trembling  in 
the  balance  between  loyalty  and  treason.  Had  its  geograph- 
ical position  been  other  than  it  was,  it  would  have  undeniably 
embraced  the  fortune  of  the  South.  Its  Governor  was,  how- 
ever, strongly  inclined  to  support  the  Government,  although 
the  peculiar  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed  called  for 
peculiar  tact  and  dexterity  in  management.  It  was  seriously 
proposed  that  no  more  troops  should  be  sent  through  Balti- 
more. 

The  day  following  this  attack,  the  President  sent  the 
following  letter  in  reply  to  a  communication  broaching  this 
modest  proposition : 

"  Washington,  April  20th,  1861. 
"  Governor  Hicks  and  Mayor  Brown  : 

"  Gentlemen  : — Your  letter  by  Messrs.  Bond,  Dobbin,  and 
Brune,  is  received.  I  tender  you  both  my  sincere  thanks  for 
your  efforts  to  keep  the  peace  in  the  trying  situation  in  which 
you  are  placed.  For  the  future,  troops  viust  be  brought  here, 
but  I  make  no  point  of  bringing  them  through  Baltimore. 

"Without  any  military  knowledge  myself,  of  course  I 
must  leave  details  to  General  Scott.  He  hastily  said  this 
morning  in  presence  of  those  gentlemen,  '  March  them  around 
Baltimore,  and  not  through  it.' 

"  I  sincerely  hope  the  General,  on  fuller  reflection,  will  con- 
sider this  practical  and  proper,  and  that  you  will  not  object 
to  it.  By  this  a  collision  of  the  people  of  Baltimore  with 
the  troops  will  be  avoided,  unless  they  go  out  of  the  way  to 
seek  it.  I  hope  you  will  exert  your  influence  to  prevent 
this.  Now  and  ever,  I  shall  do  all  in  my  power  for  peace, 
consistently  with  the  maintenance  of  government. 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"A.  Lincoln.'' 

To  a  delegation  of  rebel  sympathizers  from  the  same 
State,  who  demanded  a  cessation  of  hostilities  until  Congress 


112  LIFE   OP   ABEAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Reply  to  Marj'land  Rebels.  Blockade  Proclamation. 

should  assemble,  and  accompanied  their  demand  with  the 
statement  that  seventy-fiv^e  thousand  Maiylanders  would 
dispute  the  passage  of  any  more  United  States  troops  over 
the  soil  of  that  State,  he  quietly  remarked  that  he  presumed 
there  was  room  enough  in  the  State  to  bury  that  number,  and 
declined  to  accede  to  their  proposal.  The  Maryland  imbroglio 
was,  after  no  great  time,  adjusted,  and  ample  precautions 
taken  to  guard  against  any  future  trouble  in  that  quarter. 

On  the  19th  of  April,  every  port  of  the  States  in  rebellion 
was  declared  blockaded  by  the  following  proclamation  : 

"  Whereas,  An  insurrection  against  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  has  broken  out  in  the  States  of  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Florida,  Mississippi,  Louisiana, 
and  Texas,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  for  the  collec- 
tion of  the  revenue  can  not  be  efficiently  executed  therein 
conformably  to  that  provision  of  the  Constitution  which 
requires  duties  to  be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States  : 

"And  whereas,  A  combination  of  persons,  engaged  in 
such  insurrection,  have  threatened  to  grant  pretended  letters 
of  marque  to  authorize  the  bearers  thereof  to  commit  assaults 
on  the  lives,  vessels,  and  property  of  good  citizens  of  the 
country  lawfully  engaged  in  commerce  on  the  high  seas,  and 
in  waters  of  the  United  States : 

"  And  whereas.  An  Executive  Proclamation  has  already 
been  issued,  requiring  the  persons  engaged  in  these  disorderly 
proceedings  to  desist  therefrom,  calling  out  a  militia  force 
for  the  purpose  of  repressing  the  same,  and  convening  Con- 
gress in  extraordinary  session  to  deliberate  and  determine 
thereon : 

"  Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States,  with  a  view  to  the  same  purposes  before  men- 
tioned, and  to  the  protection  of  the  public  peace,  and  the 
lives  and  property  of  quiet  and  orderly  citizens  pursuing 
their  lawful  occupations,  until  Congress  shall  have  assembled 
and  deliberated  on  the  said  unlawful  proceedings,  or  until 


PREPARING   FOR  WAR.  113 

Blockade  Proclamation.  Additional  ProclamatioD. 

the  same  shall  have  ceased,  have  further  deemed  it  advisable 
to  set  on  foot  a  blockade  of  the  ports  within  the  States  afore- 
said, in  pursuance  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  of 
the  laws  of  nations  in  such  cases  provided.  For  this  pur- 
pose a  competent  force  will  be  posted  so  as  to  prevent 
entrance  and  exit  of  vessels  from  the  ports  aforesaid.  If, 
therefore,  with  a  view  to  violate  such  blockade,  a  vessel 
shall  approach,  or  shall  attempt  to  leave  any  of  the  said 
ports,  she  will  be  duly  warned  by  the  commander  of  one  of 
the  blockading  vessels,  who  will  indorse  on  her  register  the 
fact  and  date  of  such  warning ;  and  if  the  same  vessel  shall 
again  attempt  to  enter  or  leave  the  blockaded  port,  she  will 
be  captured  and  sent  to  the  nearest  convenient  port,  for  such 
proceedings  against  her  and  her  cargo  as  prize,  as  may  be 
deemed  advisable. 

"  And  I  hereby  proclaim  and  declare,  that  if  any  person, 
under  the  pretended  authority  of  said  States,  or  under  any 
other  pretence,  shall  molest  a  vessel  of  the  United  States, 
or  the  persons  or  cargo  on  board  of  her,  such  person  will  be 
held  amenable  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States  for  the 
prevention  and  punishment  of  piracy. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

On  the  2'rth  of  April,  the  following  additional  proclamation 
was  issued  : 

"  Whereas,  For  the  reasons  assigned  in  my  proclamation 
of  the  19th  instant,  a  blockade  of  the  ports  of  the  States  of 
South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama,  Louisiana,  Mis- 
sissippi, and  Texas  was  ordered  to  be  established ;  And 
whereas,  since  that  date  public  property  of  the  United  States 
has  been  seized,  the  collection  of  the  revenue^  obstructed,  and 
duly  commissioned  officers  of  the  United  States,  while  en- 

8 


114  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLISr. 

Effects  Abroad.  Confederate  Army.  Another  call  for  Men. 

gaged  in  executing  the  orders  of  their  superiors,  have  been 
arrested  and  held  in  custody  as  prisoners,  or  have  been 
impeded  in  the  discharge  of  their  official  duties,  without  due 
legal  process,  by  persons  claiming  to  act  under  authority  of 
the  States  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  an  efficient 
blockade  of  the  ports  of  these  States  will  therefore  also  be 
established. 

"  In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  2Yth  day  of  April, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-one;  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  the 
eighty-fifth. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

This  greatly  affected  the  commercial  interests  of  the  Euro- 
pean powers,  who  made  haste  to  announce  that  the  blockade 
must  be  an  effectual  one,  in  order  to  be  respected  ;  supposing, 
in  common  with  the  rebels,  that  they  were  demanding  what 
would  prove  to  be  an  impossibility.  To  say  that  they  erred 
decidedly  in  this  opinion,  is  but  stating  a  matter  of  general 
notoriety,  and  simply  adds  another  to  the  list  of  serious  mis- 
takes made,  during  the  progress  of  the  war,  by  the  two 
European  nations  most  deeply  interested  in  its  issue. 

It  was  soon  perceived  that  more  men  would  be  needed  in 
the  field,  Davis,  in  a  message  to  his  Congress,  having  pro- 
posed "  to  organize  and  hold  in  readiness  for  instant  action, 
in  view  of  the  exigencies  of  the  country,  an  army  of  six 
hundred  thousand  men."  On  the  3d  of  May,  accordingly, 
another  call  was  made,  in  anticipation  of  its  ratification  at  the 
extra  session  of  Congress,  which  ratification  took  place,  with- 
out opposition. 

"  Whereas,  Existing  exigencies  demand  immediate  and 
adequate  measures  for  the  protection  of  the  national  Consti- 


PREPARING   FOR  WaR.  115 


Second  Call  for  Troops.  Increaso  of  the  Navy. 

tutioQ  and  the  preservation  of  the  national  Union  by  the 
suppression  of  the  insurrectionary  combinations  now  existing 
in  several  States  for  opposing  the  laws  of  the  Union  and  ob- 
structing the  execution  thereof,  to  which  end  a  military  force, 
in  addition  to  that  called  forth  by  my  Proclamation  of  the 
fifteenth  day  of  April,  in  the  present  year,  appears  to  be  in- 
dispensably necessary,  now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln, 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  Commander-in-chief  of 
the  Army  and  Navy  thereof,  and  of  the  militia  of  the  several 
States,  when  called  into  actual  service,  do  hereby  call  into 
the  service  of  the  United   States  forty-two  thousand   and 
thirty-four  volunteers,  to  serve  for  a  period  of  three  years, 
unless  sooner  discharged,  and  to  be  mustered  into  seiwice  as 
infantry  and  cavalry.     The  proportions  of  each  arm,  and  the 
details  of  enrolment  and  organization  will  be  made  known 
through  the  Department  of  "War ;   and  I  also  direct  that  the 
regular  army  of  the  United  States  be  increased  by  the  addi- 
tion of  eight  regiments  of  infantry,  one  regiment  of  cavalry, 
and  one  regiment  of  artillery,  making  altogether  a  maximum 
aggregate  increase  of  twenty-two  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  fourteen  officers  and  enlisted  men,  the  details  of  Mdiich 
increase  will  also  be  made  known  through  the  Department  of 
War ;   and  I  further  direct  the  enlistment,  for  not  less  than 
one  nor  more  than  three  years,  of  eighteen  thousand  seamen, 
in  addition  to  the  present  force,  for  the  naval  service  of  the 
United  States.     The  details  of  the  enlistment  and  organiza- 
tion will  be  made  known  through  the  Department  of  the 
Navy.     The  call  for  volunteers,  hereby  made,  and  the  direc- 
tion of  the  increase  of  the  regular  army,  and  for  the  enlistment 
of  seamen  hereby  given,  together  with  the  plan  of  organiza- 
tion adopted  for  the  volunteers  and  for  the  regular  forces 
hereby  authorized,  will  be  submitted  to  Congress  as  soon  as 
assembled. 

"  In  the  meantime,  I  earnestly  invoke  the  cooperation  of 
all  good  citizens  in  the  measures  hereby  adopted  for  the 


116  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LIISrCOLN. 

Second  Call  for  Troops.  Habeas  Corpus  Suspended  in  Florida. 

effectual  suppression  of  unlawful  violence,  for  the  impartial 
enforcement  of  constitutional  laws,  and  for  the  speediest  pos- 
sible restoration  of  peace  and  order,  and  with  those  of 
happiness  and  prosperity  throughout  our  country. 

"  In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  third  day  of  May, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-one,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  the 
eighty-fifth. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"WiLLiABi  H.  Seward,' Secretary  of  State." 

On  the  10th  of  May,  1861,  the  following  proclamation  was 
promulgated : 

"  Whereas,  An  insurrection  exists  in  the  State  of  Florida, 
by  which  the  lives,  liberty,  and  property  of  loyal  citizens  of 
the  United  States  are  endangered. 

"And  Whereas,  It  is  deemed  proper  that  all  needful  mea- 
sures should  be  taken  for  the  protection  of  such  citizens  and 
all  officers  of  the  United  States  in  the  discharge  of  their  public 
duties  in  the  State  aforesaid. 

"  Now,  therefore,  be  it  known  that  I,  Abraham  Lincoln, 
President  of  the  United  States,  do  hereby  direct  the  com- 
mander of  the  forces  of  the  United  States  on  the  Florida  coast 
to  permit  no  person  to  exercise  any  office  or  authority  upon 
the  islands  of  Key  AVest,  the  Tortugas,  and  Santa  Rosa, 
which  may  be  inconsistent  with  the  laws  and  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  authorizing  him  at  the  same  time,  if  he 
shall  find  it  necessary,  to  suspend  there  the  writ  of  habeas 
corpus,  and  to  remove  from  the  vicinity  of  the  United  States 
fortresses  all  dangerous  or  suspected  persons. 

"In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  tenth  day  of  May,  in 


THE    FIRST   SESSION   OF   CONGRESS.  117 

Volunteering.  Extra  Session  of  Congi'ess.  Message 

the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
one,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  the  eighty- 
fifth. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

Volunteers  meanwhile  presented  themselves  for  the  defence 
of  the  country  in  numbers  greater  than  could  be  accepted, 
and  the  strife  was  who  should  secure  the  coveted  distinction 
of  a  citizen  soldier.  An  early  movement  upon  the  rebel 
army  in  Virginia  was  contemplated,  and  it  was  confidently 
anticipated  that  to  advance  was  to  put  the  enemies  of  the 
Government  to  flight. 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

THE   FIRST   SESSION   OP   CONGRESS. 

Opening  of  Congress — President's  First  Message — Its  Nature — Action  of  Congress — Reso- 
lution Declaring  the  Object  of  the  War — Bull  Run — Its  Effect. 

The  first  session  of  Congress  during  Mr.  Lincoln's  Admin- 
istration commenced  on  the  4th  of  July,  1861,  in  pursuance 
of  his  call  to  that  effect.  The  following  message  was  trans- 
mitted from  the  Executive : 

"  Fellow-citizens  op  the  Senate  and  House  op  Repre- 
sentatives : — Having  been  convened  on  an  extraordinary 
occasion,  as  authorized  by  the  Constitution,  your  attention  is 
not  called  to  any  ordinary  subject  of  legislation.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  present  Presidential  term,  four  months  ago, 
the  functions  of  the  Federal  Government  were  found  to  be 
generally  suspended  within  the  several  States  of  South  Caro- 
lina, Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana  and  Florida, 
excepting  only  those  of  the  Post-office  Department. 


118  LIFE   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


Message.  Seizure  of  Forts.  Resignation  of  Officers. 

"  Within  these  States,  all  the  Forts,  Arsenals,  Dock-Yards, 
Custom-Houses,  and  the  like,  including  the  movable  and  sta- 
tionary property  in  and  about  them,  had  been  seized,  and 
were  held  in  open  hostility  to  this  Government,  excepting 
only  Forts  Pickens,  Taylor  and  JeflTerson,  on  and  near  the 
Florida  coast,  and  Fort  Sumter  in  Charleston  harbor,  South 
Carolina.  The  forts  thus  seized  had  been  put  in  improved 
condition,  new  ones  had  been  built,  and  armed  forces  had 
been  organized,  and  were  organizing,  all  avowedly  with  the 
same  hostile  purpose. 

"  The  forts  remaining  in  possession  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment in  and  near  these  States  were  either  besieged  or  menaced 
by  warlike  preparations,  and  especially  Fort  Sumter  was 
nearly  surrounded  by  well-protected  hostile  batteries,  with 
guns  equal  in  quality  to  the  best  of  its  own,  and  outnumber- 
ing the  latter  as,  perhaps,  ten  to  one — a  disproportionate 
share  of  the  Federal  muskets  and  rifles  had  somehow  found 
their  way  into  these  States,  and  had  been  seized  to  be  used 
against  the  Government. 

"Accumulations  of  the  public  revenue  lying  within  them 
had  been  seized  for  the  same  object.  The  navy  was  scattered 
in  distant  seas,  leaving  but  a  very  small  part  of  it  within  the 
immediate  reach  of  the  Government. 

"  Officers  of  the  Federal  Army  had  resigned  in  great  num- 
bers, and  of  those  resigning  a  large  proportion  had  taken  up 
arms  against  the  Government. 

"  Simultaneously,  and  in  connection  with  all  this,  the  pur- 
pose to  sever  the  Federal  Union  was  openly  avowed.  In 
accordance  with  this  purpose  an  ordinance  had  been  adopted 
in  each  of  these  States,  declaring  the  States  respectively  to 
be  separated  from  the  National  Union.  A  formula  for  insti- 
tuting a  combined  Government  of  those  States  had  been 
promulgated,  and  this  illegal  organization,  in  the  character 
of  the  '  Confederate  States,'  was  already  invoking  recognition, 
aid  and  intervention  from  foreign  powers. 


THE   FIRST   SESSION    OF   CONGRESS.  119 

Message.  Policy  of  the  Inaugural.        Letter  from  Major  Auderson. 

"  Finding  this  condition  of  things,  and  believing  it  to  he  an 
imperative  duty  upon  the  incoming  Executive  to  prevent,  if 
possible,  the  consummation  of  such  attempt  to  destroy  the 
Federal  Union,  a  choice  of  means  to  that  end  became  indis- 
pensable. This  choice  was  made  and  was  declared  in  the 
Inaugural  Address. 

"  The  policy  chosen  looked  to  the  exhaustion  of  all  peace- 
ful measures  before  a  resort  to  any  stronger  ones.  It  sought 
only  to  hold  the  public  places  and  property  not  already 
wrested  from  the  Government,  and  to  collect  the  revenue, 
relying  for  the  rest  on  time,  discussion,  and  the  ballot-box. 
It  promised  a  continuance  of  the  mails,  at  Government 
expense,  to  the  very  people  who  were  resisting  the  Govern- 
ment, and  it  gave  repeated  pledges  against  any  disturbances 
to  any  of  the  people,  or  any  of  their  rights,  of  all  that  which 
a  President  might  constitutionally  and  justifiably  do  in  such 
a  case ;  every  thing  was  forborne,  without  which  it  was 
believed  possible  to  keep  the  Government  on  foot. 

"  On  the  5th  of  March,  the  present  incumbent's  first  full 
day  in  office,  a  letter  from  Major  Anderson,  commanding  at 
Fort  Sumter,  written  on  the  28th  of  February,  and  received 
at  the  War  Department  on  the  4th  of  March,  was  by  that 
Department  placed  in  his  hands.  This  letter  expressed  the 
professional  opinion  of  the  writer,  that  reinforcements  could 
not  be  thrown  into  that  fort  within  the  time  for  its  relief 
rendered  necessary  by  the  limited  supply  of  provisions,  and 
with  a  view  of  holding  possession  of  the  same,  with  a  force 
less  than  twenty  thousand  good  and  well-disciplined  men. 
This  opinion  was  concurred  in  by  all  the  officers  of  bis  com- 
mand, and  their  memoranda  on  the  subject  were  made 
inclosures  of  Major  Anderson's  letter.  The  whole  was  imme- 
diately laid  before  Lieutenant-General  Scott,  who  at  once 
concurred  with  Major  Anderson  in  his  opinion.  On  reflection, 
however,  he  took  full  time,  consulting  with  other  officers,  both 
of  the  Army  and  Navy,  and  at  the  end  of  four  days  came 


120  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Message.  Koinforcement  of  Pickens  Prevented. 

reluctantly  but  decidedly  to  the  same  conclusion  as  before. 
He  also  stated  at  the  same  time  that  no  such  sufficient  force 
was  then  at  the  control  of  the  Government,  or  could  be  raised 
and  brought  to  the  ground,  within  the  time  when  the  pro- 
visions in  the  fort  would  be  exhausted.  In  a  purely  military 
point  of  view,  this  reduced  the  duty  of  the  Administration  in 
the  ease  to  the  mere  matter  of  getting  the  garrison  safely  out 
of  the  fort. 

"  It  was  believed,  however,  that  to  so  abandon  that  position, 
under  the  circumstances,  would  be  utterly  ruinous  ;  that  the 
necessity  under  which  it  was  to  be  done  would  not  be  fully 
understood  ;  that  by  many  it  would  be  construed  as  a  part  of 
a  voluntary  policy ;  that  at  home  it  would  discourage  the 
friends  of  the  Union,  embolden  its  adversaries,  and  go  far  to 
insure  to  the  latter  a  recognition  abroad ;  that,  in  fact,  it 
would  be  our  national  destruction  consummated.  This  could 
not  be  allowed.  Starvation  was  not  yet  upon  the  garrison, 
and  ere  it  would  be  reached.  Fort  Pickens  might  be  re- 
inforced. This  last  would  be  a  clear  indication  of  policy,  and 
would  better  enable  the  country  to  accept  the  evacuation  of 
Fort  Sumter  as  a  military  necessity.  An  order  was  at  once 
directed  to  be  sent  for  the  landing  of  the  troops  from  the 
steamship  Brooklyn  into  Fort  Pickens.  This  order  could  not 
go  by  land,  but  must  take  the  longer  and  slower  route  by 
sea.  The  first  return  news  from  the  order  was  received  just 
one  week  before  the  fall  of  Sumter.  The  news  itself  was 
that  the  officer  commanding  the  Sabine,  to  which  vessel  the 
troops  had  been  transferred  from  the  Brooklyn,  acting  upon 
somelquasi  armistice  of  the  late  Administration,  and  of  the 
existence  of  which  the  present  Administration,  up  to  the  time 
the  order  was  dispatched,  had  only  too  vague  and  uncertain 
rumors  to  fix  attention,  had  refused  to  land  the  troops.  To 
now  reinforce  Fort  Pickens  before  a  crisis  would  be  reached 
at  Fort  Sumter,  was  impossible,  rendered  so  by  the  near 
exhaustion  of  provisions  at  the  latter  named  fort.     In  pre- 


THE   FIRST  SESSIOX   OF    CONGRESS.  121 

Message.  Relief  of  Sumter.  Attack  Unjnstifiablo 


caution  against  such  a  conjuncture  the  Government  had  a 
few  days  before  commenced  preparing  an  expedition,  as  well 
adapted  as  might  be,  to  relieve  Fort  Sumter,  which  expedi- 
tion was  intended  to  be  ultimately  used  or  not,  according  to 
circumstances.  The  strongest  anticipated  case  for  using  it 
was  now  presented,  and  it  was  resolved  to  send  it  forward  as 
had  been  intended.  In  this  contingency  it  was  also  resolved 
to  notify  the  Governor  of  South  Carolina  that  he  might  expect 
an  attempt  would  be  made  to  provision  the  fort,  and  that  if 
the  attempt  should  not  be  resisted  there  would  be  no  attempt 
to  throw  in  men,  arms  or  ammunition,  without  further  notice, 
or  in  case  of  an  attack  upon  the  fort.  This  notice  was 
accordingly  given,  whereupon  the  fort  was  attacked  and 
bombarded  to  its  fall,  without  even  awaiting  the  arrival  of 
the  provisioning  expedition. 

"  It  is  thus  seen  that  the  assault  upon  and  reduction  of 
Fort  Sumter,  was  in  no  sense,  a  matter  of  self-defense  on 
the  part  of  the  assailants.  They  well  knew  that  the  garrison 
in  the  fort  could  by  no  possibility  commit  aggression  upon 
them  ;  they  knew  they  were  expressly  notified  that  the  giving 
of  bread  to  the  few  brave  and  hungry  men  of  the  garrison 
was  all  which  would,  on  that  occasion,  be  attempted,  unless 
themselves,  by  resisting  so  much,  should  provoke  more. 
They  knew  that  this  Government  desired  to  keep  the  garrison 
in  the  fort,  not  to  assail  them,  but  merely  to  maintain  visible 
possession,  and  thus  to  preserve  the  Union  from  actual  and 
immediate  dissolution ;  trusting,  as  hereinbefore  stated,  to 
time,  discussion,  and  the  ballot-box  for  final  adjustment,  and 
they  assailed  and  reduced  the  fort,  for  precisely  the  reverse 
object,  to  drive  out  the  visible  authority  of  the  Federal  Union, 
and  thus  force  it  to  immediate  dissolution  ;  that  this  was 
their  object  the  Executive  well  understood,  having  said  to 
them  in  the  Inaugural  Address,  '  You  can  have  no  conflict 
without  bein^  yourselves  the  aggressors.'  He  took  pains  not 
only  to  keep  this  declaration  good,  but  also  to  keep  the  case 


122  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LIXCOLX. 

Message.  A  Distinct  Issue.  Call  for  Troops. 

SO  far  from  ingenious  sophistry  as  that  the  world  should  not 
misunderstand  it.  By  the  affair  at  Fort  Sumter,  with  its 
surrounding  circumstances,  that  point  was  reached.  Then 
and  thereby  the  assailants  of  the  Government  began  the 
conflict  of  arms — without  a  gun  in  sight,  or  in  expectancy,  to 
return  their  fire,  save  only  the  few  in  the  fort  sent  to  that 
harbor  years  before,  for  their  own  protection,  and  still  ready 
to  give  that  protection  in  whatever  was  lawful.  In  this  act, 
discarding  all  else,  they  have  forced  upon  the  country  the 
distinct  issue,  immediate  dissolution  or  blood,  and  this  issue 
embraces  more  than  the  fate  of  these  United  States.  It 
presents  to  the  whole  family  of  man  the  question  whether  a 
Constitutional  Republic  or  Democracy,  a  Government  of  the 
people,  by  the  same  people,  can  or  can  not  maintain  its  terri- 
torial integrity  against  its  own  domestic  foes.  It  presents 
the  question  whether  discontented  individuals,  too  few  in 
numbers  to  control  the  Administration  according  to  the 
organic  law  in  any  case,  can  always,  upon  the  pretenses  made 
in  this  case,  or  any  other  pretenses,  or  arbitrarily  without  any 
pretense,  break  up  their  Government,  and  thus  practically  put 
an  end  to  free  government  upon  the  earth.  It  forces  us  to 
ask,  '  Is  there  in  all  republics  this  inherent  and  fatal  weak- 
ness ?'  '  Must  a  Government  of  necessity  be  too  strong  for 
the  liberties  of  its  own  people,  or  too  weak  to  maintain  its 
own  existence  ?'  So  viewing  the  issue,  no  choice  was  left  but 
to  call  out  the  war  power  of  the  Government,  and  so  to  re- 
sist the  force  employed  for  its  destruction  by  force  for  its 
preservation.  The  call  was  made,  and  the  response  of  the 
country  was  most  gratifying,  surpassing,  in  unanimity  and 
spirit,  the  most  sanguine  expectation.  Yet  none  of  the 
States,  commonly  called  Slave  States,  except  Delaware,  gave 
a  regiment  through  the  regular  State  organization.  A  few 
regiments  have  been  organized  within  some  others  of  those 
States  by  individual  enterprise,  and  received  into  the  Govern 
ment  service.     Of  course  the  seceded  States,  so  called,  and  to 


THE   FIRST  SESSIOX   OF   CONGRESS.  123 

Message.  The  Border  States'  Response.  Course  of  Virginia 

which  Texas  had  been  joined  about  the  time  of  the  inaugura- 
tion, gave  no  troops  to  the  cause  of  the  Union.  The  Border 
States,  so  called,  were  not  uniform  in  their  action,  some  of 
them  being  almost  for  the  Union,  while  in  others,  as  in  Vir- 
ginia, North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and  Arkansas,  the  Union 
sentiment  was  nearly  repressed  and  silenced.  The  course 
taken  in  Virginia  was  the  most  remarkable,  perhaps  the  most 
important.  A  Convention,  elected  by  the  people  of  that 
State  to  consider  this  very  question  of  disrupting  the  Federal 
Union,  was  in  session  at  the  capitol  of  Virginia  when  Fort 
Sumter  fell. 

"  To  this  body  the  people  had  chosen  a  large  majority  of 
professed  Union  men.  Almost  immediately  after  the  fall  of 
Sumter  many  iiiembers  of  that  majority  went  over  to  the 
original  disunion  minority,  and  with  them  adopted  an  ordin- 
ance for  withdrawing  the  State  from  the  Union.  Whether 
this  change  was  wrought  by  their  great  approval  of  the 
assault  upon  Sumter,  or  their  great  resentment  at  the  Gov- 
ernment's resistance  to  that  assault,  is  not  definitely  known. 
Although  they  submitted  the  ordinance  for  ratification  to  a 
vote  of  the  people,  to  be  taken  on  a  day  then  somewhat  more 
than  a  month  distant,  the  Convention,  and  the  Legislature. 
which  was  also  in  session  at  the  same  time  and  place,  with 
leading  men  of  the  State,  not  members  of  either,  immediately 
commenced  acting  as  if  the  State  was  already  out  of  the 
Union.  They  pushed  military  preparations  vigorously  for- 
ward all  over  the  State.  They  seized  the  United  States 
Armory  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  the  Navy  Yard  at  Gosport 
near  Norfolk.  They  received,  perhaps  invited  into  their 
State,  large  'bodies  of  troops,  with  their  warlike  appoint- 
ments, from  the  so-called  seceded  States. 

"  They  formally  entered  into  a  treaty  of  temporary  alliance 
with  the  so-called  Confederate  States,  and  sent  members  to 
their  Congress  at  Montgomery,  and  finally  they  permitted 
the  insurrectionary  Government  to  be   transferred  to  their 


124  LIFE   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN". 

Message.  Armed  Neutrality.  Action  of  Government. 

capitol  at  Richmond.  The  people  of  Yirginia  have  thus 
allowed  this  giant  insurrection  to  make  its  nest  within  her 
borders,  and  this  Government  has  no  choice  left  but  to  deal 
with  it  where  it  finds  it,  and  it  has  the  less  to  regret  as  the 
oyal  citizens  have,  in  due  form,  claimed  its  protection. 
Those  loyal  citizens  this  Government  is  bound  to  recognize 
and  protect  as  being  in  Yirginia.  In  the  Border  States,  so 
called,  in  fact  the  Middle  States,  there  are  those  who  favor 
a  policy  which  they  call  armed  neutrality,  that  is,  an  arming 
of  those  States. to  prevent  the  Union  forces  passing  one  way 
or  the  disunion  forces  the  other,  over  their  soil.  This  would 
be  disunion  completed.  Figuratively  speaking,  it  would  be 
the  building  of  an  impassable  wall  along  the  line  of  separa- 
tion, and  yet  not  quite  an  impassable  one,  for  under  the  guise 
of  neutrality  it  would  tie  the  hands  of  the  Union  men,  and 
freely  pass  supplies  from  among  them  to  the  insurrectionists, 
which  it  could  not  do  as  an  open  enemy.  At  a  stroke  it 
would  take  all  the  trouble  off  the  hands  of  secession,  except 
only  what  proceeds  from  the  external  blockade.  It  would  do 
for  the  disunionists  that  which  of  all  things  they  most  desire, 
feed  them  well,  and  give  them  disunion,  without  a  struggle 
of  their  own.  It  recognizes  no  fidelity  to  the  Constitution, 
no  obligation  to  maintain  the  Union,  and  while  very  many 
who  have  favored  it  are  doubtless  loyal  citizens,  it  is,  never- 
theless, very  injurious  in  effect. 

"  Recurring  to  the  action  of  the  Government,  it  may  be 
stated  that  at  first  a  call  was  made  for  seventy-five  thousand 
militia,  and  rapidly  following  this,  a  proclamation  was  issued 
for  closing  the  ports  of  the  insurrectionary  districts  by  pro- 
ceedings in  the  nature  of  a  blockade.  So  far  all  was  believed 
to  be  strictly  legal. 

"At  this  point  the  insurrectionists  announced  their  purpose 
to  enter  upon  the  practice  of  privateering. 

"  Other  calls  were  made  for  volunteers,  to  serve  three 
years,  unless  sooner  discharged,  and  also  for  large  additions  to 


THE   FIEST   SESSION   OF   CONGEESS.  125 


Message.  Habeas  Corpus.  No  Violation  of  Law. 

the  regular  army  and  navy.  These  measures,  whether  strictly 
legal  or  not,  were  ventured  upon  under  what  appeared  to  bo 
a  popular  demand  and  a  public  necessity,  trusting  then,  as 
now,  that  Congress  would  ratify  them, 

"  It  is  believed  that  nothing  has  been  done  beyond  the  con- 
stitutional competency  of  Congress.  Soon  after  the  first  call 
for  militia  it  was  considered  a  duty  to  authorize  the  com- 
manding general,  in  proper  cases,  according  to  his  discretion, 
to  suspend  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  ;  or, 
in  other  words,  to  arrest  and  detain,  without  resort  to  the 
ordinary  processes  and  forms  of  law,  such  individuals  as  he 
might  deem  dangerous  to  the  public  safety.  This  authority 
has  purposely  been  exercised,  but  very  sparingly.  IS'ever- 
theless,  the  legality  and  propriety  of  what  has  been  done 
under  it  are  questioned,  and  the  attention  of  the  country  has 
been  called  to  the  proposition,  that  one  who  is  sworn  to  take 
care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed  should  not  himself 
violate  them.  Of  course  some  consideration  was  given  to 
the  questions  of  power  and  propriety  before  this  matter  was 
acted  upon.  The  whole  of  the  laws,  which  were  required  to 
be  faithfully  executed,  were  being  resisted,  and  failing  of  ex- 
ecution in  nearly  one-third  of  the  States.  Must  they  be 
allowed  to  finally  fail  of  execution,  even  had  it  been  perfectly 
clear  that,  by  use  of  the  means  necessary  to  their  execution, 
some  single  law,  made  in  such  extreme  tenderness  of  the 
citizen's  liberty  that  practically  it  relieves  more  of  the  guilty 
than  the  innocent,  should,  to  a  very  great  extent,  be  vio- 
lated ?  To  state  the  question  more  directly,  are  all  the 
laws  but  one  to  go  unexecuted,  and  the  Government  itself  to 
go  to  pieces,  lest  that  one  be  violated  ?  Even  in  such  a  case 
would  not  the  official  oath  be  broken,  if  the  Government 
should  be  overthrown  when  it  was  believed  that  disregarding 
the  single  law  would  tend  to  preserve  it  ? 

"But  it  was  not  believed  that  this  question  was  presented. 
It  was  not  believed  thoit  any  law  was  violated.     The  pro- 


126  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Message.  Constitution  Silent.  Keports  of  Departments. 

vision  of  the  Constitution,  that  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  suspended,  unless  when,  in  cases 
of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public  safety  may  require  it,  is 
equivalent  to  a  provision  that  such  privilege  may  be  sus- 
pended when,  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public 
safety  does  require  it.  It  was  decided  that  we  have  a  case 
of  rebellion,  and  that  the  public  safety  does  require  the 
qualified  suspension  of  the  privilege  of  the  writ,  which  was 
authorized  to  be  made.  Now,  it  is  insisted  that  Congress, 
and  not  the  Executive,  is  vested  with  this  power.  But  the 
Constitution  itself  is  silent  as  to  which  or  who  is  to  exercise 
the  power ;  and  as  the  provision  was  plainly  made  for  a  dan- 
gerous emergency,  it  cannot  be  believed  that  the  framers  of 
the  instrument  intended  that  in  every  case  the  danger  should 
run  its  course  until  Congress  could  be  called  together,  the 
very  assembling  of  which  might  be  prevented,  as  was  in- 
tended in  this  case  by  the  rebellion.  No  more  extended 
argument  is  now  aiforded,  as  an  opinion  at  some  length  will 
probably  be  presented  by  the  Attorney-General.  Whether 
there  shall  be  any  legislation  on  the  subject,  and  if  so,  what, 
is  subject  entirely  to  the  better  judgment  of  Congress.  The 
forbearance  of  this  Government  had  been  so  extraordinary, 
and  so  long  continued,  as  to  lead  some  foreign  nations  to 
shape  their  action  as  if  they  supposed  the  early  destruction 
of  our  National  Union  was  probable.  While  this,  on  dis- 
covery, gave  the  Executive  some  concern,  he  is  now  happy  to 
say  that  the  sovereignty  and  rights  of  the  United  States  are 
now  everywhere  practically  respected  by  foreign  powers,  and 
a  general  sympathy  with  the  country  is  manifested  through- 
out the  world. 

"  The  reports  of  the  Secretaries  of  the  Treasury,  War,  and 
the  Navy,  will  give  the  information,  in  detail,  deemed  neces- 
sary and  convenient  for  your  deliberation  and  action,  Avhile 
the   Executive  and   all   the  Departments   will  stand   ready 


THE  FIRST  SESSION  OF   CONGRESS.  127 

Message.  Men  and  Money.  Secession  Defined. 

to  supply  omissions  or  to  communicate  new  facts  considered 
important  for  you  to  know. 

"  It  is  now  recommended  that  you  give  the  legal  means  for 
making  this  contest  a  short  and  decisive  one  ;  that  you  place 
at  the  control  of  the  Government  for  the  work,  at  least 
400,000  men  and  $400,000,000  ;  that  number  of  men  is  about 
one-tenth  of  those  of  proper  ages  within  the  regions  where 
apparently  all  are  willing  to  engage,  and  the  sum  is  less  than 
a  twenty-third  part  of  the  money  value  owned  by  the  men 
who  seem  ready  to  devote  the  whole.  A  debt  of  $600,000,000 
now  is  a  less  sum  per  head  than  was  the  debt  of  our  Revo- 
lution when  we  came  out  of  that  struggle,  and  the  money 
value  in  the  country  bears  even  a  greater  proportion  to  what 
it  was  then  than  does  the  population.  Surely  each  man  has 
as  strong  a  motive  now  to  preserve  our  liberties,  as  each  had 
then  to  establish  them. 

"A  right  result  at  this  time  will  be  worth  more  to  the 
world  than  ten  times  the  men  and  ten  times  the  money.  The 
evidence  reaching  us  from  the  country,  leaves  no  doubt  that 
the  material  for  the  work  is  abundant,  and  that  it  needs  only 
the  hand  of  legislation  to  give  it  legal  sanction,  and  the  hand 
of  the  Executive  to  give  it  practical  shape  and  eflSciency. 
One  of  the  greatest  perplexities  of  the  Government  is  to 
avoid  receiving  troops  faster  than  it  can  provide  for  them ; 
in  a  word,  the  people  will  save  their  Government  if  the 
Government  will  do  its  part  only  indifferently  well.  It  might 
seem  at  first  thought  to  be  of  little  difference  whether  the 
present  movement  at  the  South  be  called  secession  or  rebel- 
lion. The  movers,  however,  well  understand  the  difference. 
At  the  beginning  they  knew  that  they  could  never  raise  their 
treason  to  any  respectable  magnitude  by  any  name  which 
implies  violation  of  law ;  they  knew  their  people  possessed 
as  much  of  moral  sense,  as  much  of  devotion  to  law  and 
order,  and  as  much  pride  in  its  reverence  for  the  history  and 
government  of  their  common  country,  as  any  other  civilized 


123  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Message.  Iiijuri.ius  Sophism.  State  Sovereignty. 

and  patriotic  people.  They  knew  they  could  make  no  ad- 
vancement directly  in  the  teeth  of  these  strong  and  noble 
sentiments.  Accordingly  they  commenced  by  an  insidious 
debauching  of  the  public  mind ;  they  invented  an  ingenious 
sophism,  which,  if  conceded,  was  followed  by  perfectly  logical 
steps  through  all  the  incidents  of  the  complete  destruction  of 
the  Union.  The  sophism  itself  is  that  any  State  of  the 
Union  may,  consistently  with  the  nation's  Constitution,  and 
therefore  lawfully  and  peacefully,  withdraw  from  the  Union 
without  the  consent  of  the  Union  or  of  any  other  State. 

"  The  little  disguise  that  the  supposed  right,  is  to  be  exer- 
cised only  for  just  cause,  themselves  to  be  the  sole  judge  of 
its  justice,  is  too  thin  to  merit  any  notice  with  rebellion. 
Thus  sugar-coated,  they  have  been  drugging  the  public  mind 
of  their  section  for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  until  at 
length  they  have  brought  many  good  men  to  a  willingness  to 
take  up  arms  against  the  Government  the  day  after  some 
assemblage  of  men  have  enacted  the  farcical  pretence  of 
taking  their  State  out  of  the  Union,  who  could  have  been 
brought  to  no  such  thing  the  day  before.  This  sophism 
derives  much,  perhaps  the  whole  of  its  cui'rency,  from  the 
assumption  that  there  is  some  omnipotent  and  sacred  supre- 
macy pertaining  to  a  State,  to  each  State  of  our  Federal 
Union.  Our  States  have  neither  more  nor  less  power  than 
that  reserved  to  them  in  the  Union  by  the  Constitution,  no 
one  of  them  ever  having  been  a  State  out  of  the  Union. 
The  original  ones  passed  into  the  Union  before  they  cast  off 
their  British  Colonial  dependence,  and  the  new  ones  came 
into  the  Union  directly  from  a  condition  of  dependence, 
excepting  Texas,  and  even  Texas,  in  its  temporary  indepen- 
dence, was  never  designated  as  a  State.  The  new  ones  only 
took  the  designation  of  States  on  coming  into  the  Union, 
while  that  name  was  first  adopted  for  the  old  ones  in  and  bj' 
the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Therein  the  United  Colo- 
nies were  declared  to  be  free  and  independ^ent  States.     But 


THE   FIEST   SESSION   OF   CONGRESS.  129 

Message.  What  is  Sovereignty  ?  Union  older  than  the  States. 

even  then  the  object  plainly  was  not  to  declare  their  inde- 
pendence of  one  another  of  the  Union,  but  directly  the  con- 
trary, as  their  mutual  pledge  and  their  mutual  action  before, 
at  the  time,  and  afterward,  abundantly  show.     The  express 
plight  of  faith  by  each  and  all  of  the  original  thirteen  States 
in  the   Articles  of   Confederation  two  years  later  that  the 
Union  shall  be  perpetual,  is  most  conclusive.     Having  never 
been  States  either  in  substance  or  in  name  outside  of  the 
Union,  whence  this  magical  omnipotence   of    State   rights, 
asserting  a  claim  of  power  to  lawfully  destroy  the  Union 
itself?     Much  is  said  about  the  sovereignty  of  the  States,  but 
the  word  even  is  not  in  the  National  Constitution,  nor,  as  is 
believed,  in  any  of  the  State  constitutions.     What  is  sover- 
eignty in  the  political  sense  of  the  word  ?     Would  it  be  far 
wrong  to  define  it  a  political  community  without  a  political 
superior  ?     Tested  by  this,  no   one   of   our  States,  except 
Texas,  was   a   sovereignty,  and   even   Texas  gave  up  the 
character  on  coming  into  the  Union,  by  which  act  sLe  acknow- 
ledged the  Constitution  of  the  United  States ;  and  the  laws 
and   treaties  of   the  United  States,  made  in  pursuance   of 
States,  have  their  status  in  the  Union,  made  in  pursuance  of 
the  Constitution,  to  be  for  her  the  supreme  law.     The  States 
have  their  status  in  the  Union,  and  they  have  no  other  legal 
status.     If  they  break  from  this,  they  can  only  do  so  against 
law   and    by  revolution.      The  Union  and  not  themselves, 
separately  procured  their  independeace  and  their  liberty  by 
conquest  or  purchase.      The  Union  gave  each  of  them  what- 
ever of  independence  and  liberty  it  has.     The  Union  is  older 
than  any  of  the  States,  and,  in  fact,  it  created  them  as  States. 
Originally,  some  dependent  Colonies  made  the  Union,  and  in 
turn  the  Union  threw  off  their  old  dependence  for  them,  and 
made  them  States,  such  as  they  are.     Not  one  of  them  ever 
had  a  State   constitution  independent   of  the   Union.     Of 
course  it  is  not  forgotten  that  all  the  new  States  formed  their 
constitutions  before  they  entered  the  Union ;  nevertheless, 
9 


130  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


jjgggage.  Secession  Unconstitutional.  Florida  and  Texas 

dependent  upon,  and  preparatory  to  coming  into  the  Union. 
"Unquestionably  the  States  have  the  powers  and  rights  re- 
served to  them  in  and  by  the  National  Constitution. 

"  But  among  these  surely  are  not  included  all  conceivable 
powers,  however  mischievous  or  destructive,  but  at  most 
such  only  as  were  known  in  the  world  at  the  time  as  govern- 
mental powers,  and  certainly  a  power  to  destroy  the  Govern- 
ment itself  had  never  been  known  as  a  governmental,  as  a 
merely   administrative    power.       This    relative    matter    of 
National  power  and  State  rights  as  a  principle,  is  no  other 
than  the  principle  of  generality  and  locality.     Whatever  con- 
cerns the  whole  should  be  conferred  on  the  whole  General 
Government,  while  whatever  concerns  only  the  State  should 
be  left  exclusively  to  the  State.     This  is  all  there  is  of  orig- 
inal principle  about  it.     Whether  the  National  Constitution, 
in  defining  boundaries  between  the  two,  has  applied  the  prin- 
ciple with  exact  accuracy,  is  not  to  be  questioned.     We  are 
all  bound  by  that  defining  without  question.     What  is  now 
combatted  is  the  position  that  secession  is  consistent  with  the 
Constitution,  is  lawful  and  peaceful.     It  ;is  not  contended 
that  there  is  any  express  law  for  it,  and  nothing  should  ever 
be  implied  as  law  which  leads  to  unjust  or  absurd  conse- 
quences.    The  nation  purchased  with  money  the  countries 
out  of  which  several  of  these  States  were  formed.     Is  it  just 
that  they  shall  go  off  without  leave  and  without  refunding  ? 
The  nation  paid  very  large  sums  in  the  aggregate,  I  believe 
nearly  a  hundred  millions,  to  relieve  Florida  of  the  aboriginal 
tribes.     Is  it  just  that  she  shall  now  be  off  without  consent, 
or  without  any  return  ?     The  nation  is  now  in  debt  for  money 
applied  to  the  benefit  of  these  so-called  seceding  States,  in 
common  with  the  rest.     Is  it  just,  either  that  creditors  shall 
go  unpaid,  or  the  remaining  States  pay  the  whole  ?     A  part 
of  the  present  National  debt  was  contracted  to  pay  the  old 
debt  of  Texas.     Is  it  just  that  she  shall  leave  and  pay  no 
part  of  this  herself  ?     Again,  if  one  State  may  secede,  so  may 


THE   FIRST   SESSION    OF    CONGRESS.  131 

Message.  Soceders'  Constitution.  Rights  of  Minoritiea 

another,  and  when  all  shall  have  seceded  none  is  left  to  pay 
the  debts.  Is  this  quite  just  to  creditors  ?  Did  we  notify 
them  of  this  sage  view  of  ours  when  we  borrowed  their 
money  ?  If  we  now  recognize  this  doctrine  by  allowing  the 
seceders  to  go  in  peace,  it  is  difficult  to  see  what  we  can  do 
if  others  choose  to  go,  or  to  extort  terms  upon  which  they 
will  promise  to  remain.  The  seceders  insist  that  our  Consti- 
tution admits  of  secession.  They  have  assumed  to  make  a 
Kational  Constitution  of  their  own,  in  which,  of  necessity, 
they  have  either  discarded  or  retained  the  right  of  secession, 
as  they  insist  exists  in  ours.  If  they  have  discarded  it,  they 
thereby  admit  that  on  principle  it  ought  not  to  exist  in  ours ; 
if  they  have  retained  it,  by  their  own  construction  of  ours 
that  shows  that  to  be  consistent,  they  must  secede  from  one 
another  whenever  they  shall  find  it  the  easiest  way  of  settling 
their  debts,  or  effecting  any  other  selfish  or  unjust  object. 
The  principle  itself  is  one  of  disintegration,  and  upon  which 
no  Government  can  possibly  endure.  If  all  the  States  save 
one  should  assert  the  power  to  drive  that  one  out  of  the 
IJnion,  it  is  presumed  the  whole  class  of  seceder  politicians 
would  at  once  deny  the  power,  and  denounce  the  act  as  the 
greatest  outrage  upon  State  rights.  But  sui^pose  that  pre- 
cisely the  same  act,  instead  of  being  called  driving  the  one 
out,  should  be  called  the  seceding  of  the  others  from  that  one, 
it  would  be  exactly  what  the  seceders  claim  to  do,  unless, 
indeed,  they  made  the  point  that  tli>e  one,  because  it  is  a 
minority,  may  rightfully  do  what  the  others,  because  they  are 
a  majority,  may  not  rightfully  do.  These  politicians  are 
subtle,  and  profound  in  the  rights  of  minorities.  They  are 
not  partial  to  that  power  which  made  the  Constitution,  and 
speaks  from  the  preamble,  calling  itself,  'We,  the  people.' 
It  may  be  well  questioned  whether  there  is  to-day  a  majority 
of  the  legally  qualified  voters  of  any  State,  except,  perhaps, 
South  Carolina,  in  favor  of  disunion.  There  is  much  reason 
to  believe  that  the  Union  men  are  the  majority  in  many,  if  not 


132  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Message.  Elections  in  Tirgiuia  and  Tennessee.  Material  of  the  Annies. 

in  every  one  of  the  so-called  seceded  States.  The  contrary 
has  not  been  demonstrated  in  any  one  of  them.  It  is  ven- 
tured to  affirm  this,  even  of  Virginia  and  Tennessee,  for  the 
result  of  an  election  held  in  military  camps,  where  the  bayo- 
nets are  all  on  one  side  of  the  question  voted  upon,  can 
scarcely  be  considered  as  demonstrating  popular  sentiment. 
At  such  an  election  all  that  large  class  who  are  at  once  for 
the  Union  and  against  coercion  would  be  coerced  to  vote 
against  the  Union.  It  may  be  affirmed,  without  extrava- 
gance, that  the  free  institutions  we  enjoy  have  developed  the 
powers  and  improved  the  condition  of  our  whole  people  be- 
yond any  example  in  the  world.  Of  this  we  now  have  a 
striking  and  impressive  illustration.  So  large  an  army  as  the 
Government  has  now  on  foot  was  never  before  known,  with- 
out a  soldier  in  it  but  who  has  taken  his  place  there  of  his 
own  free  choice.  But  more  than  this,  there  are  many  single 
regiments  whose  members,  one  and  another,  possess  full 
practical  knowledge  of  all  the  arts,  sciences,  professions,  and 
whatever  else,  whether  useful  or  elegant,  is  known  in  the 
whole  world,  and  there  is  scarcely  one  from  which  there  could 
not  be  selected  a  President,  a  Cabinet,  a  Congress,  and  per- 
haps a  Court,  abundantly  competent  to  administer  the  Gov- 
ernment itself  Nor  do  I  say  this  is  not  true  also  in  the  army 
of  our  late  friends,  now  adversaries,  in  this  contest.  But  it 
is  so  much  better  the  reason  why  the  Government  which  has 
conferred  such  benefits  on  both  them  and  us  should  not  be 
broken  up.  "Whoever  in  any  section  proposes  to  abandon 
such  a  Government,  would  do  well  to  consider  in  deference 
to  what  principle  it  is  that  he  does  it.  What  better  he  is 
likely  to  get  in  its  stead,  whether  the  substitute  will  give,  or 
be  intended  to  give  so  much  of  good  to  the  people.  There 
are  some  foreshadowings  on  this  subject.  Our  adversaries 
have  adopted  some  declarations  of  independence  in  which, 
unlike  our  good  old  one  penned  by  Jefferson,  they  omit  the 
words,   'all  men  are  created  equal.'     Why?      They  have 


THE   FIRST   SESSION   OF   COl^GRESS.  133 

Mossage.  A  People's  Contest.  Common  Soldiers  and  Sailors. 

adopted  a  temporary  National  Constitution,  in  the  preamble 
of  which,  unlike  our  good  old  one  signed  by  Washington, 
they  omit,  '  We,  the  people,'  and  substitute,  '  We,  the  depu- 
ties of  the  sovereign  and  independent  States.'  Why  ?  Why 
this  deliberate  pressing  out  of  view  the  rights  of  men  and  the 
authority  of  the  people  ?  This  is  essentially  a  people's  con- 
test. On  the  side  of  the  Union  it  is  a  struggle  for  maintain- 
ing in  the  world  that  form  and  substance  of  Government 
whose  leading  object  is  to  elevate  the  condition  of  men,  to 
lift  artificial  weights  from  all  shoulders,  to  clear  the  paths  of 
laudable  pursuit  for  all,  to  afford  all  an  unfettered  start  and  a 
fair  chance  in  the  race  of  life,  yielding  to  partial  and  tempor- 
ary departures  from  necessity.  This  is  the  leading  object  of 
the  Government  for  whose  existence  we  contend. 

"  I  am  most  happy  to  believe  that  the  plain  people  under- 
stand and  appreciate  this.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  while 
in  this,  the  Government's  hour  of  trial,  large  numbers  of  those 
in  the  army  and  navy  who  have  been  favored  with  the  offices, 
have  resigned  and  proved  false  to  the  hand  which  pampered 
them,  not  one  common  soldier  or  common  sailor  is  known  to 
have  deserted  his  flag.  Great  honor  is  due  to  those  officers 
who  remained  true  despite  the  example  of  their  treacherous 
associates,  but  the  greatest  honor  and  the  most  important  fact 
of  all,  is  the  unanimous  firmness  of  the  common  soldiers  and 
common  sailors.  To  the  last  man,  so  far  as  known,  they  have 
successfully  resisted  the  traitorous  efforts  of  those  whose  com- 
mands but  an  hour  before  they  obeyed  as  absolute  law.  This 
is  the  patriotic  instinct  of  plain  people.  They  understand 
without  an  argument  that  the  destroying  the  Government 
which  was  made  by  Washington  means  no  good  to  them. 
Our  popular  Government  has  often  been  called  an  experiment. 
Two  points  in  it  our  people  have  settled  :  the  successful  es- 
tablishing and  the  successful  administering  of  it.  One  still 
remains.  Its  successful  maintenance  against  a  formidable 
internal   attempt  to   overthrow  it.     It   is  now  for  them  to 


134  LIFE   OF    ABEAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Message.  A  Lesson  of  Peace.  Course  of  the  Government. 


demonstrate  to  the  world  that  those  who  can  fairly  carry  an 
election,  can  also  suppress  a  rebellion  ;  that  ballots  are  the 
rightful  and  peaceful  successors  of  bullets,  and  that  when  bal- 
lots have  fairly  and  constitutionally  decided,  there  can  be  no 
successful  appeal  except  to  ballots  themselves  at  succeeding 
elections.  Such  will  be  a  great  lesson  of  peace,  teaching  men 
that  what  they  cannot  take  by  an  election,  neither  can  they 
take  by  a  war,  teaching  all  the  folly  of  being  the  beginners  of 
a  war. 

"Lest  there  should  be  some  uneasiness  in  the  minds  of 
candid  men  as  to  what  is  to  be  the  course  of  the  Government 
toward  the  Southern  States  after  the  rebellion  shall  have  been 
suppressed,  the  Executive  deems  it  proper  to  say  it  will  be  his 
purpose  then,  as  ever,  to  be  guided  by  the  Constitution  and  the 
laws,  and  that  he  probably  will  have  no  different  understand- 
ing of  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  Federal  Government  rela- 
tively to  the  rights  of  the  United  States  and  the  people  under 
the  Constitution  than  that  expressed  in  the  Inaugural  Address. 
He  desires  to  preserve  the  Government  that  it  may  be  admin- 
istered for  all,  as  it  was  administered  by  the  men  who  made 
it.  Loyal  citizens  everywhere  have  a  right  to  claim  this  of 
their  Government,  and  the  Government  has  no  right  to  with- 
hold or  neglect  it.  It  is  not  perceived  that  in  giving  it  there 
is  any  coercion,  conquest  or  subjugation  in  any  sense  of  these 
terms. 

"  The  Constitution  provided,  and  all  the  States  have  ac- 
cepted the  provision,  '  that  the  United  States  shall  guarantee 
to  every  State  in  this  Union  a  Republican  form  of  govern- 
ment,' but  if  a  State  may  lawfully  go  out  of  the  Union, 
having  done  so,  it  may  also  discard  the  Republican  form  of 
Government.  So  that  to  prevent  its  going  out  is  an  indispen- 
sable means  to  the  end  of  maintaining  the  guaranty  men- 
tioned ;  and  when  an  end  is  lawful  and  obligatory,  the  indis- 
pensable means  to  it  are  also  lawful  and  obligatory. 

"  It  was  with  the  deepest  regret  that  the  Executive  found 


THE   FIRST  SESSION   OF   CONGRESS.  135 

Message.  The  War  Power.  Nature  of  the  Message. 

the  duty  of  employing  the  war  power.  In  defence  of  the 
Government  forced  upon  him,  he  could  but  perform  this  duty 
or  surrender  the  existence  of  the  Government.  No  com- 
promise by  public  servants  could  in  this  case  be  a  cure,  not 
that  compromises  are  not  often  proper,  but  that  no  popular 
government  can  long  survive  a  marked  precedent,  that  those 
who  carry  an  election  can  only  save  the  Government  from 
immediate  destruction  by  giving  up  the  main  point  upon 
which  the  people  gave  the  election.  The  people  themselves 
and  not  their  servants  can  safely  reverse  their  own  deliberate 
decisions. 

"As  a  private  citizen  the  Executive  could  not  have  con- 
sented that  these  institutions  shall  perish,  much  less  could  he, 
in  betrayal  of  so  vast  and  so  sacred  a  trust  as  these  free 
people  had  confided  to  him.  He  felt  that  he  had  no  moral 
right  to  shrink,  nor  even  to  count  the  chances  of  his  own  life 
in  what  might  follow. 

"  In  full  view  of  his  great  responsibility,  he  has  so  far  done 
what  he  has  deemed  his  duty.  You  will  now,  according  to 
your  own  judgment,  perform  yours.  He  sincerely  hopes  that 
your  views  and  your  actions  may  so  accord  with  his  as  to  as- 
sure all  faithful  citizens  who  have  been  disturbed  in  their 
rights,  of  a  certain  and  speedy  restoration  to  them,  under  the 
Constitution  and  laws ;  and  having  thus  chosen  our  cause 
without  guile,  and  with  pure  purpose,  let  us  renew  our  trust 
in  God,  and  go  forward  without  fear  and  with  manly  hearts. 

"  July  4,  1861.  Abraham  Lincoln." 

This  document,  it  will  be  observed,  sets  forth  in  temperate 
language  the  facts  bearing  upon  the  rebellion  in  its  then 
stage — facts  so  stated  that  the  common  people  could  readily 
comprehend  the  exact  situation  of  affairs  Such  a  message, 
always  in  place,  was  never  more  needed  than  at  a  junciure 

when — as   seemed   not   altogether  impossible   to   many an 

appeal  might  yet  have  to  be  made  again  and  again  to  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  for  men  and  money  to  maintain  the 


136  LIFE   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN". 

Action  of  Congress.  Crittenden  Resolution.  Bull  Run. 

unity  of  the  nation.  It  may  be  safely  asserted,  that  the  mes- 
sages of  none  of  our  Presidents  have  been  so  generally  read 
and  so  thoroughly  mastered  by  the  average  mind,  as  those  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  himself  the  tribune  of  the  people. 

Congress  granted  five  hundred  millions  in  money,  and 
directed  a  call  for  five  hundred  thousand  volunteers  for  the 
army  ;  made  provisions  for  a  popular  national  loan  ;  revised 
the  tariff ;  passed  a  direct  tax  bill ;  adopted  measures,  mod- 
erate in  their  scope,  for  the  confiscation  of  rebel  property ; 
legalized  the  official  acts  of  the  President  during  the  emer- 
gency in  which  the  country  had  been  placed  ;  and  the  House 
of  Representatives,  with  but  two  dissentients,  passed  the  fol- 
lowing resolution : 

"Besolved,  By  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  That  the  present  deplorable  civil 
war  has  been  forced  upon  the  country  by  the  disunionists  of 
the  Southern  States,  now  in  revolt  against  the  Constitutional 
Government,  and  in  arms  around  the  capital ;  that  in  this 
national  emergency  Congress,  banishing  all  feeling  of  mere 
passion  or  resentment,  will  recollect  "only  its  duty  to  the 
whole  country ;  that  this  war  is  not  waged  on  our  part  in  any 
spirit  of  oppression,  nor  for  any  purpose  of  conquest  or  sub- 
jugation, nor  purpose  of  authorizing  or  interfering  with  the 
rights  or  established  institutions  of  the  States,  but  to  defend 
and  maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution,  and  to 
preserve  the  Union,  with  all  the  dignities,  equality,  and 
rights  of  the  several  States  unimpaired,  and  that  as  soon  as 
.hese  objects  are  accomplished  the  war  ought  to  cease." 

On  the  21st  of  July,  the  Army  of  the  Union,  under  the 
direct  command  of  General  McDowell,  and  the  general  super- 
vision of  the  veteran  Scott — from  whose  onward  movement 
against  the  rebels  in  Virginia  so  much  had  been  expected — 
met  with  a  serious  reverse  at  Bull  Run.  They  went  forth, 
exulting  in  victory  as  certain  ;  they  came  back  a  panic-stricken 
mob.     For  an  instant,  despondency  took  possession  of  every 


CLOSE  OF  1861.  137 


Washington  Safe.  Bull  Run  Needed.  Davis's  Message 

loyal  heart ;  all  manner  of  vague  fears  seized  the  people ; 
Washington  would  be  captured ;  the  cause  was  lost. 

It  was  but  for  an  instant,  however.  The  rebound  came. 
Washington,  which  might  easily  have  been  captured  and 
sacked,  had  the  rebels  known  how  to  improve  their  success, 
was  securely  fortified  and  amply  garrisoned.  One  did  not 
then  comprehend  what  now  the  most  concede — that  Bull  Run 
was  a  necessary  discipline — a  school  in  which  all  learned 
somewhat — though,  unfortunately,  not  all  of  us  as  much  as  we 
should.     That  came  later. 


-^  ♦  #  »  ►- 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CLOSE      OF      186  1. 

Elation  of  the  Rebels — Davis's  boast— McClellan  appointed  Commander  of  Potomac  Army 
— Proclamation  of  a  National  Fast — Intercourse  with  rebels  forbidden — Fugitive  slaves 
— Gen.  Butler's  views — Gen.  MClellan's  letter  from  Secretary  Cameron — Act  of  August 
eth."  1861 — Gen.  Fremont's  order — Letter  of  the  President  modifying  the  same- 
Instructions  to  Gen.  Sherman — Ball's  Bluif — Gen.  Scott's  retirement — Army  of  the 
Potomac. 

The  victory  of  the  conspirators  at  Bull  Run,  as  wa^to  have 
been  expected,  elated  them  no  little.  Their  President  in  his 
message  was  supercilious  and  confident.  Lauding  the  prowess 
and  determination  of  his  confederates,  he  said  : 

"  To  speak  of  subjugating  such  a  people,  so  united  and 
determined,  is  to  speak  in  a  language  incomprehensible  to 
them  :  to  resist  attack  on  their  rights  or  their  liberties  is  with 
them  an  instinct.  Whether  this  war  shall  last  one,  or  three, 
or  five  years,  is  a  problem  they  leave  to  be  solved  by  the 
enemy  alone.  It  will  last  till  the  enemy  shall  have  with- 
drawn from  their  borders ;  till  their  political  rights,  their 
altars,  and  their  homes  are  freed  from  invasion.  Then,  and 
then  only,  will  they  rest  from  this  struggle  to  enjoy  in  peace, 


138  LIFE   OF   ABEAHAM   LIXCOLN. 

Gen.  JlcClellan's  Appointment.  Proclamation  fijr  Fast. 

the  blessings  which,  with  the  favor  of  Providence,  they  have 
secured  by  the  aid  of  their  own  strong  hearts  and  steady  arms." 

On  the  25th,  of  July,  a  new  commander  was  assigned  to  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  upon  the  warm  recommendation  of 
Gen.  Scott ;  George  B.  McClellan,  who  had  already  become 
favorably  known  from  his  conducting  a  successful  campaign 
in  Western  Yirginia.  With  the  extravagance  so  character- 
istic of  the  American  people,  this  commander — whose  laurels 
were  yet  to  be  won — was  hailed  as  a  young  Napoleon,  lauded 
to  the  skies,  and  failure  under  him  regarded  as  an  utter  im- 
possibility. 

And  the  General  betook  himself  to  the  organizing,  disci- 
plining, and  supplying  his  army,  to  which  large  accessions 
were  continually  making  from  week  to  week. 

On  the  12th  day  of  August  was  issued  the  following  proc- 
lamation : 

"  Whereas,  A  joint  committee  of  both  Houses  of  Congress 
has  waited  on  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  request- 
ed him  to  '  recommend  a  day  of  public  humiliation,  prayer, 
and  fasting,  to  be  observed  by  the  people  of  the  United  States 
with  religious  solemnities,  and  the  offering  of  fervent  suppli- 
cations to  Almighty  God  for  the  safety  and  welfare  of  these 
States,  His  blessings  on  their  arms,  and  a  speedy  restoration 
of  peace.' 

"  And  whereas.  It  is  fit  and  becoming  in  all  people,  at  all 
times,  to  acknowledge  and  revere  the  Supreme  Government 
of  God  ;  to  bow  in  humble  submission  to  his  chastisements  ; 
to  confess  and  deplore  their  sins  and  transgressions,  in  the 
full  conviction  that  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of 
wisdom,  and  to  pray,  with  all  fervency  and  contrition,  for  the 
pardon  of  their  past  offences,  and  for  a  blessing  upon  their 
present  and  prospective  action. 

"  And  whereas.  When  our  own  beloved  country,  once,  by 
the  blessing  of  God,  united,  prosperous,  and  happy,  is  now 
afflicted  with  faction  and  civil  war,  it  is  peculiarly  fit  for  us 


CLOSE  OF    1861.  139 


Proclamation  for  Fast.  Nun  Intercourse. 

to  recognize  the  hand  of  God  in  this  terrible  visitation,  and, 
in  sorrowful  remembrance  of  our  own  faults  and  crimes  as  a 
nation,  and  as  individuals,  to  humble  ourselves  before  Him, 
and  to  pray  for  His  mercy — to  pray  that  we  may  be  spared 
further  punishment,  though  most  justly  deserved  ;  that  our 
arms  may  be  blessed  and  made  effectual  for  the  re-establish- 
ment of  law,  order,  and  peace  throughout  the  wide  extent  of 
our  country  ;  and  that  the  inestimable  boon  of  civil  and  religi- 
ous liberty,  earned  under  His  guidance  and  blessing  by  the 
labors  and  sufferings  of  our  fathers,  may  be  restored  in  all  its 
original  excellence  ; 

"  Therefore,!,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United 
States,  do  appoint  the  last  Thursday  in  September  next  as  a 
day  of  humiliation,  prayer,  and  fasting  for  all  the  people  of 
the  nation.  And  I  do  earnestly  recommend  to  all  the  people, 
and  especially  to  all  ministers  and  teachers  of  religion,  of  all 
denominations,  and  to  all  heads  of  families,  to  observe  and 
keep  that  day,  according  to  their  several  creeds  and  modes  of 
worship,  in  all  humility,  and  with  all  religious  solemnity,  to 
the  end  that  the  united  prayer  of  the  nation  may  ascend  to  the 
Throne  of  Grace,  and  bring  down  plentiful  blessings  upon  our 
country. 

"  In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed,  this  12th 
day  of  August,  A.  D.  1861,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States  of  America  the  eighty-sixth. 

"  By  the  President ;  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

And  four  days  later  the  following  : 

"Whereas,  On  the  1.5th  day  of  April,  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  in  view  of  an  insurrection  against  the  laws. 
Constitution,  and  Government  of  the  United  States,  which 
bad  broken  out  within  the  States  of  South  Carolina,  Georgia, 
Alabama,  Florida,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Texas,  and  in 


140  LIFE   OF   ABEAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Non  Inteiconrse  Proclamation.  West  Tiiginia. 

pursuance  of  the  provisions  of  an  act  entitled  an  act  to  provide 
for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws  of  the  Union, 
suppress  insurrections  and  repel  invasions,  and  to  repeal  the 
act  now  in  force  for  that  purpose,  approved  February  28th, 
1795,  did  call  forth  the  militia  to  suppress  said  insurrection 
and  cause  the  laws  of  the  Union  to  be  duly  executed — and  the 
insurgents  have  failed  to  disperse  by  the  time  directed  by  the 
President ;  and  whereas,  such  insurrection  has  since  broken 
out  and  yet  exists  within  the  States  of  Virginia,  North  Caro- 
lina, Tennessee,  and  Arkansas;  and  whereas,  the  insurgents 
in  all  the  said  States  claim  to  act  under  authority  thereof,  and 
such  claim  is  not  discarded  or  repudiated  by  the  persons  exer- 
cising the  functions  of  government  in  such  State  or  States,  or 
in  the  part  or  parts  thereof,  in  which  such  combinations  exist, 
nor  has  such  insurrection  been  suppressed  by  said  States. 

"  Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoin,  President  of  the 
United  States,  in  pursuance  of  the  Act  of  Congress  approved 
July  13th,  1861,  do  hereby  declare  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
said  States  of  Georgia^  South  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Alabama, 
Louisiana,  Texas,  Arkansas,  Mississippi,  and  Florida,  except 
the  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  the  State  of  Virginia  lying 
west  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  and  of  such  other  parts  of 
that  State  and  the  other  States  hereinbefore  named  as  may 
maintain  a  loyal  adhesion  to  the  Union  and  the  Constitution, 
or  may  be,  from  time  to  time  occupied  and  controlled  by  the 
forces  of  the  United  States  engaged  in  the  dispersion  of  said 
insurgents,  are  in  a  state  of  insurrection  against  the  United 
States,  and  that  all  commercial  intercourse  between  the  same 
and  the  inhabitants  thereof,  with  the  exception  aforesaid,  and 
the  citizens  of  other  States  and  other  parts  of  the  United 
States,  is  unlawful,  and  will  remain  unlawful  until  such  insur- 
rection shall  cease  or  has  been  suppressed ;  that  all  goods  and 
chattels,  wares  and  merchandise,  coming  from  any  of  the  said 
States,  with  the  exceptions  aforesaid,  into  other  parts  of  the 
United  States,  without  the  special  license  and  permission  of 


CLOSE   OF    1861.  1-11 


Non  Intercourse.  Dealing  with  Slaves. 

the  President,  through  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  or  pro- 
ceeding to  any  of  the  said  States,  with  the  exception  afore- 
said, by  land  or  water,  together  with  the  vessel  or  vehicle 
conveying  the  same,  or  conveying  persons  to  and  from  the 
said  States,  with  the  said  exceptions,  will  be  forfeited  to  the 
United  States  ;  and  that,  from  and  after  fifteen  days  from  the 
issuing  of  this  proclamation,  all  ships  and  vessels  belonging, 
in  whole  or  in  part,  to  any  citizen  or  inhabitant  of  any  of  the 
said  States,  with  the  said  exceptions,  found  at  sea  in  any  part 
of  the  United  States,  will  be  forfeited  to  the  United  States : 
and  I  hereby  enjoin  upon  all  District  Attorneys,  Marshals, 
and  officers  of  the  revenue  of  the  military  and  naval  forces  of 
the  United  States,  to  be  vigilant  in  the  execution  of  the  said 
act,  and  in  the  enforcement  of  the  penalties  and  forfeitures 
imposed  or  declared  by  it,  leaving  any  party  who  may  think 
himself  aggrieved  thereby,  to  his  application  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  for  the  remission  of  any  penalty  or  forfeiture, 
which  the  said  Secretary  is  authorized  by  law  to  grant,  if  in 
his  judgment,  the  special  circumstances  of  any  case  shall 
require  such  a  remission. 

"  In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"Done  in  the  City  of  Washington,  this,  the  16th  day  of 
August,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  sixty-one,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States 
of  America  thi  eighty-sixth, 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

The  question  as  to  the  disposition  to  be  made  of  the  slaves 
of  rebel  masters  presented  itself  early  in  the  contest,  and  it 
was  at  once  perceived  that  its  settlement  would  be  attended 
with  no  little  embarrassment. 


142  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Fugitive  Slaves.  Gen.  Butler.  Gen.  McClellan. 

As  early  as  May  2*lih,  1861,  General  Butler,  in  command 
at  Fortress  Monroe,  had  informed  the  War  Department  as  to 
his  views  relative  to  the  fugitive  slaves — that  they  were  to  be 
regarded  as  "  contraband  of  war" — and  Secretary  Cameron, 
under  date  of  May  30th,  had  instructed  that  commander 
neither  to  permit  any  interference  by  persons  under  his  com- 
mand with  the  relations  of  persons  held  to  service  under  the 
hiws  of  any  State  ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  while  such  States 
remained  in  rebellion,  to  surrender  such  persons  to  their 
alleged  masters,  but  to  employ  them  in  such  service  as  would 
be  most  advantageous,  keeping  an  account  of  the  value  of 
their  labor  and  the  expenses  of  their  support — the  question 
of  their  final  disposition  to  be  reserved  for  future  determina- 
tion. 

At  about  the  same  time.  General  McClellan,  advancing  into 
Western  Virginia  to  the  aid  of  the  loyal  men  of  that  section, 
used  this  language  in  his  address  to  the  people  : 

"  Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said  by  the  traitors  to 
induce  you  to  believe  that  our  advent  among  you  will  be 
signalized  by  interference  with  your  slaves,  understand  one 
thing  clearly — not  only  will  we  abstain  from  all  such  inter- 
ference, but  we  will,  on  the  contrary,  with  an  iron  hand, 
crush  any  attempt  at  insurrection  on  their  part." 

On  the  8th  of  August,  Secretary  Cameron,  in  reply  to  a 
second  letter  from  General  Butler  upon  the  same  subject, 
said : 

"  General  : — The  important  question  of  the  proper  disposi- 
tion to  be  made  of  fugitives  from  service  in  the  States  in  insur- 
rection against  the  Federal  Government,  to  which  you  have 
again  directed  my  attention,  in  your  letter  of  July  20th,  has 
received  my  most  attentive  consideration.  It  is  the  desire 
of  the  President  that  all  existing  rights  in  all  the  States  be 
fully  respected  and  maintained.  The  war  now  prosecuted  on 
the  part  of  the  Federal  Government  is  a  war  for  the  U^iioa. 


CLOSE  OF  1861.  1-13 


Sec.  Cameron's  Letter.  Slaves  of  Loyal  Masters. 


for  the  preservation  of  all  the  Constitutional  rights  of  the 
States  and  the  citizens  of  the  States  in  the  Union  ;  hence  no 
question  can  arise  as  to  fugitives  from  service  within  the 
States  and  Territories  in  which  the  authority  of  the  Union  is 
fully  acknowledged.  The  ordinary  forms  of  judicial  proceed- 
ings must  be  respected  by  the  military  and  civil  authorities 
alike  for  the  enforcement  of  legal  forms.  But  in  the  States 
wholly  or  in  part  under  insurrectionary  control,  where  the 
laws  of  the  United  States  are  so  far  opposed  and  resisted  that 
they  can  not  be  effectually  enforced,  it  is  obvious  that  the 
rights  dependent  upon  the  execution  of  these  laws  must 
temporarily  fail,  and  it  is  equally  obvious  that  the  rights 
dependent  on  the  laws  of  the  States  within  which  military 
operations  are  conducted  must  necessarily  be  subordinate  to 
the  military  exigencies  created  by  the  insurrection,  if  not 
wholly  forfeited  by  the  treasonable  conduct  of  the  parties 
claiming  them.  To  this  the  general  rule  of  the  right  to 
service  forms  an  exception.  The  act  of  Congress  approved 
August  6,  1861,  declares  that  if  persons  held  to  service  shall 
be  employed  in  hostility  to  the  United  States,  the  right  to 
their  services  shall  be  discharged  therefrom.  It  follows  of 
necessity  that  no  claim  can  be  recognized  by  the  military 
authority  of  the  Union  to  the  services  of  such  persons  when 
fugitives. 

"A  more  difficult  question  is  presented  in  respect  to  persons 
escaping  from  the  service  of  loyal  masters.  It  is  quite 
apparent  that  the  laws  of  the  State  under  which  only  the 
service  of  such  fugitives  can  be  claimed  must  needs  be  wholly 
or  almost  wholly  superseded,  as  to  the  remedies,  by  the 
insurrection  and  the  military  measures  necessitated  by  it ; 
and  it  is  equally  apparent  that  the  substitution  of  military  for 
judicial  measures  for  the  enforcement  of  such  claims  must  be 
attended  by  great  inconvenience,  embarrassments  and  injuries. 
Under  these  circumstances,  it  seems  quite  clear  that  the  sub- 
stantial rights  of  loyal  masters  are  still  best  protected  by 


144  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Cameron's  Letter.  Confiscation  Act. 

receiving  such  fugitives,  as  well  as  fugitives  from  disloyal 
masters,  into  the  service  of  the  United  States,  and  employing 
them  under  such  organizations  and  in  such  occupations  as 
circumstances  may  suggest  or  require.  Of  course  a  record 
should  be  kept  showing  the  names  and  descriptions  of  the 
fugitives,  the  names  and  characters,  as  loyal  or  disloyal,  of 
their  masters,  and  such  facts  as  may  be  necessary  to  a  correct 
understanding  of  the  circumstances  of  each  case. 

"  After  tranquility  shall  have  been  restored  upon  the  return 
of  peace.  Congress  will  doubtless  properly  provide  for  all  the 
persons  thus  received  into  the  service  of  the  Union,  and  for  a 
just  compensation  to  loyal  masters.  In  this  way  only,  it 
would  seem,  can  the  duty  and  safety  of  the  Government  and 
just  rights  of  all  be  fully  reconciled  and  harmonized.  You 
will,  thei'efore,  consider  yourself  instructed  to  govern  your 
future  action  in  respect  to  fugitives  from  service  by  the 
premises  herein  stated,  and  will  report  from  time  to  time,  and 
at  least  twice  in  each  month,  your  action  in  the  premises  to 
this  Department  You  will,  however,  neither  authorize  nor 
permit  any  intei'ference  by  the  troops  under  your  command 
with  the  servants  of  peaceable  citizens  in  a  house  or  field,  nor 
will  you  in  any  manner  encourage  such  citizens  to  leave  the 
lawful  service  of  their  masters,  nor  will  you,  except  in  cases 
where  the  public  good  may  seem  to  require  it,  prevent  the 
voluntary  return  of  any  fugitive  to  the  service  from  which  he 
may  have  escaped." 

The  Act  of  Congress  to  which  allusion  has  already  been 
made,  as  providing  for  the  confiscation  of  the  estates  of 
persons  in  open  rebellion  against  the  Government,  limited  the 
penalty  to  property  actually  employed  in  the  service  of  the 
rebellion,  with  the  knowledge  and  consent  of  its  owners;  and, 
instead  of  emancipating  slaves  thus  employed,  left  the  dis- 
position to  be  made  of  them  to  be  determined  by  the  United 
States  Courts,  or  by  subsequent  legislation 


CLOSE  OF  lyyi.  145 


Fremont's  Proclamation.  President's  Modification. 

General  Fremont,  in  command  of  the  Department  of 
Missouri,  in  an  order  dated  August  30th,  declaring  martial 
law  established  throughout  that  State,  used  the  following 
language : 

"  Real  and  personal  property  of  those  who  shall  take 
up  arms  against  the  United  States,  or  who  shall  be  directly- 
proven  to  have  taken  an  active  part  with  their  enemies  in  the 
field,  is  declared  confiscated  to  public  use,  and  their  slaves, 
if  any  they  have,  are  hereby  declared  free  men." 

This  order  violated  the  above-named  act,  and  could  only  be 
justified  upon  the  ground  of  imperative  military  necessity 
Some  correspondence  which  passed  between  the  President 
and  General  Fremont  upon  this  topic,  resulted  in  the  fol- 
lowing oSicial  letter,  dated  Washington,  D.  C,  Sept.  11, 
1861: 

"  Major  General  John  C.  Fremont  : — 

"  Sir, — Yours  of  the  8th,  in  answer  to  mine  of  the  2d 
inst.,  is  just  received.  Assured  that  you,  upon  the  ground, 
could  better  judge  of  the  necessities  of  your  position  than  I 
could  at  this  distance,  on  seeing  your  proclamation  of  August 
30,  I  perceived  no  general  objection  to  it ;  the  paiticular 
clause,  however,  in  relation  to  the  confiscation  of  property 
and  the  liberation  of  slaves,  appeared  to  me  to  be  objection- 
able in  its  non-conformity  to  the  Act  of  Congress  passed  the 
6th  of  last  August,  upon  the  same  subjects,  and  hence  I 
wrote  you,  expressing  my  wish  that  that  clause  should 
be  modified  accordingly.  Your  answer  just  received  ex- 
presses the  preference  on  your  part  that  I  should  make  an 
open  order  for  the  modification,  which  I  very  cheerfully  do. 
It  is,  therefore,  ordered  that  the  said  clause  of  the  said  pro- 
clamation be  so  modified,  held  and  construed,  as  to  conform 
with,  and  not  to  transcend  the  provisions  on  the  same  subject 
contained  in  the  Act  of  Congress  entitled  'An  Act  to  confis- 
cate property  used  for  insurrectionary  purposes,'  approved 
10 


146  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Sherman's  Instructions.  Ball's  Bluff. 

August  6,  1861,  and  that  said  Act  be  published  at  length 
with  this  order. 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"A.  Lincoln." 

In  the  instructions  from  the  War  Department  to  General 
Sherman,  in  command  of  the  land  forces  destined  to  operate 
on  the  South  Carolina  coast,  that  commander  was  directed  to 
govern  himself  relative  to  this  class  of  persons,  by  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  letters  addressed  to  General  Butler,  exercising, 
however,  his  own  discretion  as  to  special  cases.  If  particular 
circumstances  seemed  to  require  it,  they  were  to  be  employed 
in  any  capacity,  with  such  organization  in  squads,  companies, 
or  otherwise,  as  should  be  by  him  deemed  most  beneficial  to 
the  service.  This,  however,  not  to  mean  a  general  arming 
of  them  for  military  service.  All  loyal  masters  were  to  be 
assured  that  Congress  would  provide  just  compensation 
to  them  for  any  loss  of  the  services  of  persons  so  employed. 

This  phase — varying  and  indefinite — at  that  time  did  that 
question  present,  which  was  at  a  later  period  to  take,  under 
the  moulding  hand  of  the  President,  body  and  form  clearly 
defined  and  unmistakable. 

The  battle  of  Ball's  Bluff — the  first  under  the  direction  oi 
ihe  new  commander  on  the  Potomac — fought  October  21st; 
was  but  Bull  Run  repeated ;  happily,  however,  on  a  some- 
what smaller  scale.  A  convenient  scapegoat  upon  whom  to 
throw  the  responsibility — General  Stone — was  found,  and  the 
indignation  of  the  country  was  measurably,  and  for  the  time, 
appeased. 

Directly  after  this  affair,  the  veteran  Scott  having  asked  to 
be  relieved  from  active  service,  his  request  was  granted  in 
the  following  highly  complimentary  order  : 

"  Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  Nov.  1,  1861. 
"  On  the  1st  day  of  November,  A.  D.,  1861,  upon  his  own 
application  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Brevet 


CLOSE  OF  1861.  147 


Scott's  Retirement.  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

Lieutenant-General  Winfiekl  Scott  is  ordered  to  be  placed, 
and  hereby  is  placed,  upon  the  list  of  retired  officers  of  the 
Army  of  the  United  States,  without  reduction  in  his  current 
pay,  subsistence,  or  allowances. 

"  The  American  people  will  hear  with  sadness  and  deep 
emotion  that  General  Scott  has  withdrawn  from  the  active 
control  of  the  army,  while  the  President  and  the  unanimous 
Cabinet  express  their  own  and  the  nation's  sympathy  in  his 
personal  affliction,  and  their  profound  sense  of  the  important 
public  services  rendered  by  him  to  his  country  during  his 
long  and  brilliant  career,  among  which  will  ever  be  gratefully 
distinguished  his  faithful  devotion  to  the  Constitution,  the 
Union,  and  the  flag,  when  assailed  by  a  parricidal  rebellion. 

"Abraham  Lincoln." 

To  General  McClellan,  now  the  ranking  officer  of  the  army, 
the  duties  of  General-in-chief  were  assigned  by  the  President. 

The  autumnal  months  passed  away — gorgeous  and  golden 
— men  thought  them  made  for  fighting,  if  fighting  must  be  ; 
but  no  fighting  for  the  Army  of  the  Potomac — an  occasional 
skirmish  only — mainly  reviews. 

The  winter  months   came — the   dry  season   had   passed. 
The  Grand  Army  being  now  thoroughly  organized,  disci 
plined,   and    equipped   went — to    fight  ? — no — into    winter 
quarters. 

And  the  people,  patient  ever  and  forgiving,  when  inclina- 
tion impels,  forgot  Ball's  Bluff — forgot  what  they  had  hoped 
for — trusted  in  the  prudent  caution  of  the  general  in  commana 
and  waited  for  the  springtide. 


148  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LTNCOLN". 

Meeting  of  Congress.  Results.  Mason  and  Slidell. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   CONGRESS   OF    1861-2. 

The  Military  Situation — Seizure  of  Mason  and  Slidell — Opposition  to  the  Administration — 
President's  Message — Financial  Legislation — Committee  on  the  Conduct  of  the  War- 
Confiscation  Bill. 

At  the  time  of  the  re-assembh*ng  of  Congress,  December 
2d,  1861,  the  military  situation  was  by  no  means  as  promising 
as  the  liberal  expenditure  of  money  and  the  earnest  efforts  of 
the  Administration  toward  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war 
might  have  led  the  people  to  expect.  True,  the  National 
Capitol  had  been  protected,  and  Maryland,  West  Virginia, 
Kentucky,  and  Missouri  had  not,  as  had  been  at  various  times 
threatened,  been  brought  in  subjection  to  the  rebels.  Noth- 
ing more,  however — though  this  would  have  been  judged  no 
little,  had  the  people  been  less  sanguine  of  great  results  im- 
mediately at  hand — than  this  had  been  accomplished  in  the 
East ;  and  in  the  West,  large  rebel  forces  threatened  Kentucky 
and  Missouri,  and  the  Mississippi  river  was  in  their  posses- 
sion from  its  mouth  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Ohio. 

The  seizure  of  the  emissaries,  Mason  and  Slidell  likewise — 
Though  afterwards  disposed  of  by  the  Government  in  such  a 
way  as  to  secure  the  acquiescence  of  the  nation — taken  m 
connection  with  the  position  assumed  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment— in  every  way  unpalatable  to  the  mass  of  the  people — 
seemed  likely  to  entangle  us  in  foreign  complications  exceed- 
ingly undesirable  at  that  juncture.  It  was  generally  believed 
that  England  and  France,  while  neutral  on  the  surface,  were 
in  reality  affording  very  material  aid  and  comfort  to  the  rebel 
cause,  our  commercial  interests  being  very  seriously  impaired 


THE  COXGRESS   OF    1861-2.  149 

Opposition  Party.  President's  Message. 

by  the  construction  which  those  powers  saw  fit  to  place  upon 
their  duties  as  neutrals. 

Efforts,  moreover,  were  making  to  organize  a  formidable 
party  in  antagonism  to  the  Administration,  comprising  the 
loose  ends  of  every  class  of  malcontents ;  those  who  had 
always  opposed  the  war,  though  for  a  time  cowed  down  by 
the  outburst  which  followed  the  fall  of  Sumter ;  those  who 
were  satisfied  that  no  more  progress  had  been  made ;  those 
who  were  inclined,  constitutionally,  to  oppose  any  thing 
which  any  Administration,  under  any  circumstances,  might 
do ;  those  who  were  beginning  to  tire  of  the  war,  and  were 
ready  to  patch  matters  up  in  any  way,  so  only  that  it  should 
come  to  an  end  ;  and  those  who  were  on  the  alert  for  some 
chance  whereby  to  make  capital,  political  or  pecuniary,  for 
their  own  dear  selves. 

As  a  whole,  affairs  wore  by  no  means  a  cheering  aspect  at 
the  opening  of  this  Session. 

That  the  President  was  fully  alive  to  the  true  state  of  the 
case,  the  views  announced  in  the  following  message  clearly 
show : 

"  Fellow-citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives :> — In  the  midst  of  unprecedented  political  troubles, 
we  have  cause  of  great  gratitude  to  God  for  unusual  good 
health  and  most  abundant  harvests. 

"  You  will  not  be  surprised  to  learn  that,  in  the  peculiar 
exigences  of  the  times,  our  intercourse  with  foreign  nations 
has  been  attended  with  profound  solicitude,  chiefly  turning 
upon  our  own  domestic  affairs. 

"A  disloyal  portion  of  the  American  people  have,  during  the 
whole  year,  been  engaged  in  an  attempt  to  divide  and  de- 
stroy the  Union.  A  nation  which  endures  factious  domestic 
division,  is  exposed  to  disrespect  abroad  ;  and  one  party, 
if  not  both,  is  sure,  sooner  or  later,  to  invoke  foreign  inter- 
vention. 

"Nations  thus  tempted  to  interfere,  are  not  always  able  to 


150 

LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM    LIXCOLN-. 

Message. 

Foreign  Aid  to  Rebels. 

resist  the  counsels  of  seeming  expediency  and  ungenerous  am- 
bition, although  measures  adopted  under  such  influences  seldom 
fail  to  be  unfortunate  and  injurious  to  those  adopting  them. 

"  The  disloyal  citizens  of  the  United  States  who  have 
offered  the  ruin  of  our  country,  in  return  for  the  aid  and  com- 
fort which  they  have  invoked  abroad,  have  received  less 
patronage  and  encouragement  than  they  probably  expected. 
If  it  were  just  to  suppose,  as  the  insurgents  have  seemed  to 
assume,  that  foreign  nations,  in  this  case,  discarding  all 
moral,  social  and  treaty  obligations,  would  act  solely,  and 
selfishly,  for  the  most  speedy  restoration  of  commerce,  in- 
cluding, especially,  the  acquisition  of  cotton,  those  nations 
appear,  as  yet,  not  to  have  seen  their  way  to  their  objects 
more  directly,  or  clearly,  through  the  destruction  than 
through  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  If  we  could  dare  to 
believe  that  foreign  nations  are  actuated  by  no  higher  princi- 
ple than  this,  I  am  quite  sure  a  sound  argument  could  be 
made  to  show  them  that  they  can  reach  their  aim  more 
readily  and  easily  by  aiding  to  crush  this  rebellion  than  by 
giving  encouragement  to  it. 

"  The  principal  lever  relied  on  by  the  insurgents  for  ex- 
citing foreign  nations  to  hostility  against  us,  as  already  in- 
timated, is  the  embarrassment  of  commerce.  Those  nations, 
however,  not  improbably,  saw  from  the  first,  that  it  was  the 
Union  which  made,  as  well  our  foreign,  as  our  domestic  com- 
merce. They  can  scarcely  have  failed  to  perceive  that  the 
effort  for  disunion  produces  the  existing  difficulty  ;  and  that 
one  strong  nation  promises  more  durable  peace,  and  a  more 
extensive,  valuable  and  reliable  commerce,  than  can  the  same 
nation  broken  into  hostile  fragments. 

"  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  review  our  discussions  with 
foreign  States ;  because  whatever  might  be  their  wishes  or 
dispositions,  the  integrity  of  our  country  and  the  stability  of 
our  Government  mainly  depend,  not  upon  them,  but  on  the 
loyalty,  virtue,  patriotism  and  intelligence  of  the  American 


THE    COXGRESS   OF    1861-62.  151 

Foreign  Dangers.  5Iilit;uy  lUiilroad. 

people.     The  correspondence  itself,  with  the  usual  reserva- 
tions, is  herewith  submitted. 

"  I  venture  to  hope  it  will  appear  that  we  have  practiced 
prudence  and  liberality  toward  foreign  powers,  averting 
causes  of  irritation,  and  with  firmness  maintaining  our  own 
rights  and  honor. 

"  Since,  however,  it  is  apparent  that  here,  as  ia  every  other 
State,  foreign  dangers  necessarily  attend  domestic  difiBculties, 
I  recommend  that  adequate  and  ample  measures  be  adopted 
for  maintaining  the  public  defences  on  every  side.  While, 
under  this  general  recommendation,  provision  for  defending 
our  sea-coast  line  readily  occurs  to  the  mind,  I  also,  in  the 
same  connection,  ask  the  attention  of  Congress  to  our  great 
lakes  and  rivers.  It  is  believed  that  some  fortifications  and 
depots  of  arms  and  munitions,  with  harbor  and  navigation 
improvements,  all  at  well-selected  points  upon  these,  would 
be  of  great  importance  to  the  National  defence  and  preserva- 
tion. I  ask  attention  to  the  views  of  the  Secretary  of  War, 
expressed  in  his  report,  upon  the  same  general  subject. 

"  I  deem  it  of  importance  that  the  loyal  regions  of  East 
Tennessee  and  Western  North  Carolina  should  be  connected 
with  Kentucky,  and  other  faithful  parts  of  the  Union,  by 
railroad.  I  therefore  recommend,  as  a  military  measure,  that 
Congress  provide  for  the  construction  of  such  road  as  speedily 
as  possible.  Kentucky,  no  doubt,  will  co-operate,  and, 
through  her  Legislature,  make  the  most  judicious  selection 
of  a  line.  The  northern  terminus  must  connect  with  some 
existing  railroad ;  and  whether  the  route  shall  be  from  Lex 
ington  or  Xicholasville  to  the  Cumberland  Gap,  or  from 
Lebanon  to  the  Tennessee  line,  in  the  direction  of  Knoxville, 
or  on  some  still  different  line,  can  easily  be  determined. 
Kentucky  and  the  General  Government  cooperating,  the 
work  can  be  completed  in  a  very  short  time  ;  and  when  done, 
it  will  be  not  only  of  vast  present  usefulness,  but  also  a 


152  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM    LIXCOLN, 

Message.  Sbip  Perthsliire.  Claims  against  China. 

valuable  permanent  improvement,  worth  its  cost  in  all  the 
future. 

"  Some  treaties,  designed  chiefly  for  the  interests  of  com- 
merce, and  having  no  grave  political  importance,  have  been 
negotiated,  and  will  be  submitted  to  the  Senate  for  their  con- 
sideration. 

"Although  we  have  failed  to  induce  some  of  the  commercial 
powers  to  adopt  a  desirable  amelioration  of  the  rigor  of  mari- 
time war,  we  have  removed  all  obstructions  from  the  way  of 
this  humane  reform,  except  such  as  are  merely  of  temporary 
and  accidental  occurrence. 

"  I  invite  your  attention  to  the  correspondence  between 
Her  Britannic  Majesty's  Minister,  accredited  to  this  Govern- 
ment, and  the  Secretary  of  State,  relative  to  the  detention  of 
the  British  ship  Perthshire,  in  June  last,  by  the  TJnited  States 
steamer  Massachusetts,  for  a  supposed  breach  of  the  blockade. 
As  this  detention  was  occasioned  by  an  obvious  misapprehen- 
sion of  the  facts,  and  as  justice  requires  that  we  should  com- 
mit no  belligerent  act  not  founded  in  strict  right,  as  sanc- 
tioned by  public  law,  I  recommend  that  an  appropriation  be 
made  to  satisfy  the  reasonable  demand  of  the  owners  of  the 
vessel  for  her  detention. 

"  I  repeat  the  recommendation  of  my  predecessor,  in  his 
annual  message  to  Congress  in  December  last,  in  regard  to 
the  disposition  of  the  surplus  which  will  probably  remain 
after  satisfvinsr  the  claims  of  the  American  citizens  against 
China,  pursuant  to  the  awards  of  the  commissioners  under 
he  act  of  the  3d  of  March,  1859.  If,  however,  it  should 
not  be  deemed  advisable  to  carry  that  recommendation  into 
effect,  I  would  suggest  that  authority  be  given  for  investing 
the  principal,  over  the  proceeds  of  the  surplus  referred  to,  in 
good  securities,  with  a  view  to  the  satisfaction  of  such  other 
just  claims  of  our  citizens  against  China  as  are  not  unlikely 
to  arise  hereafter  in  the  course  of  our  extensive  trade  with 
that  empire. 


THE    CONGRESS   OF    1861-2.  153 

Message.  Hayti  and  Liberia.  Treasury  Operations. 

"  By  the  act  of  the  5th  of  August  last,  Congress  authorized 
the  President  to  instruct  the  commanders  of  suitable  vessels 
to  defend  themselves  against  and  to  capture  pirates.  This 
authority  has  been  exercised  in  a  single  instance  only.  For 
the  more  effectual  protection  of  our  extensive  and  valuable 
commerce,  in  the  Eastern  seas  especially,  it  seems  to  me  that 
it  would  also  be  advisable  to  authorize  the  commanders  of 
sailing  vessels  to  recapture  any  prizes  which  pirates  may 
make  of  United  States  veSsels  and  their  cargoes,  and  the 
consular  courts,  now  established  by  law  in  Eastern  countries, 
to  adjudicate  the  cases,  in  the  event  that  thisshould  not  be 
objected  to  by  the  local  authorities. 

"  If  any  good  reason  exists  why  we  should  persevere  longer 
in  withholding  our  recognition  of  the  independence  and  sove- 
reignty of  Hayti  and  Liberia,  I  am  unable  to  discern  it. 
Unwilling,  however,  to  inaugurate  a  novel  policy  in  regard 
to  them  without  the  approbation  of  Congress,  I  submit  for 
your  consideration  the  expediency  of  an  appropriation  for 
maintaining  a  charge  d'affaires  near  each  of  those  new  States. 
It  does  not  admit  of  doubt  that  important  commercial  ad- 
vantages might  be  secured  by  favorable  treaties  with  them. 

"  The  operations  of  the  treasury  during  the  period  which 
has  elapsed  since  your  adjournment,  have  been  conducted 
with  signal  success.  The  patriotism  of  the  people  has 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Government  the  large  means 
demanded  by  the  public  exigencies.  Much  of  the  national 
loan  has  been  taken  by  citizens  of  the  industrial  classes, 
whose  confidence  in  their  country's  faith,  and  zeal  for  their 
country's  deliverance  from  present  peril,  have  induced  them 
to  contribute  to  the  support  of  the  Government  the  whole  of 
their  limited  acquisitions.  This  fact  imposes  peculiar  obliga- 
tions to  economy  in  disbursement,  and  energy  in  action. 

"  The  revenue  from  all  sources,  including  loans,  for  the 
financial  year  ending  on  the  30th  of  June,  1861,  was  eighty- 
six  million   eight  hundred   and   thirty-five    thousand    nine 


154  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLX. 


Message.  Kevenue.  Report  of  Secretary  of  War, 

hundred  dollars  and  twenty-seven  cents,  and  the  expenditures 
for  the  same  period,  including  payments  on  account  of  the 
public  debt,  were  eighty-four  million  five  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-eight thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-four  dollars  and 
forty-seven  cents ;  leaving  a  balance  in  the  treasury  on  the 
1st  of  July  of  two  million  two  hundred  and  fifty-seven 
thousand  sixty-five  dollars  and  eighty  cents.  For  the  first 
quarter  of  the  financial  year,  ending  on  the  30th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1861,  the  receipts  from  all  sources,  including  the  balance 
of  the  1st  of  July,  were  one  hundred  and  two  million  five 
hundred  and  thirty-two  thousand  five  hundred  and  nine 
dollars  and  twenty-seven  cents,  and  the  expenses  ninety- 
eight  million  two  hundred  and  thirty-nine  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  thirty-three  dollars  and  nine  cents ;  leaving  a 
balance  on  the  1st  of  October,  1861,  of  four  million  two  hun- 
dred and  ninety -two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy- 
six  dollars  and  eighteen  cents. 

"  Estimates  for  the  remaining  three-quarters  of  the  year, 
and  for  the  financial  year  1863,  together  with  his  views  of 
ways  and  means  for  meeting  the  demands  contemplated  by 
them,  will  be  submitted  to  Congress  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  It  is  gratifying  to  Imow  that  the  expenditures 
made  necessary  by  the  rebellion  are  not  beyond  the  resources 
of  the  loyal  people,  and  to  believe  that  the  same  patriotism 
which  has  thus  far  sustained  the  Government  will  continue 
to  sustain  it  till  peace  and  Union  shall  again  bless  the  land. 

"  I  respectfully  refer  to  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War 
for  information  respecting  the  numerical  strength  of  the 
Army,  and  for  recommendations  having  in  view  an  increase 
of  its  efficiency  and  the  well-being  of  the  various  branches 
of  the  service  intrusted  to  his  care.  It  is  gratifying  to  know 
that  the  patriotism  of  the  people  has  proved  equal  to  the 
occasion,  and  that  the  number  of  troops  tendered  greatly 
exceeds  the  force  which  Congress  authorized  me  to  call  into 
the  field. 


THE   CONGRESS   OF   1861-2.  155 

Message.  Army  Chaplains.  Report  of  Spcretary  of  the  Navy. 

"I  refer  with  pleasure  to  those  portions  of  his  report  which 
make  allusion  to  the  creditable  degree  of  discipline  already 
attained  by  our  troops,  and  to  the  excellent  sanitary  condition 
of  the  entire  army. 

"  The  recommendation  of  the  Secretary  for  an  organization 
of  the  militia  upon  a  uniform  basis  is  a  subject  of  vital  im- 
portance to  the  future  safety  of  the  country,  and  is  commended 
to  the  serious  attention  of  Congress. 

"  The  large  addition  to  the  regular  army,  in  connection 
with  the  defection  that  has  so  considerably  diminished  the 
number  of  its  officers,  gives  peculiar  importance  to  his  recom- 
mendation for  increasing  the  corps  of  cadets  to  the  greatest 
capacity  of  the  Military  Academy. 

"  By  mere  omission,  I  presume,  Congress  has  failed  to  pro- 
vide chaplains  for  hospitals  occupied  by  volunteers.  This 
subject  was  brought  to  my  notice,  and  I  was  induced  to  draw 
up  the  form  of  a  letter,  one  copy  of  which,  properly  addressed, 
has  been  delivered  to  each  of  the  persons,  and  at  the  dates 
respectively  named  and  stated,  in  a  schedule,  containing  also 
the  form  of  the  letter,  marked  A,  and  herewith  transmitted. 

"  These  gentlemen,  I  understand,  entered  upon  the  duties 
designated,  at  the  times  respectively  stated  in  the  schedule. 
and  have  labored  faithfully  therein  ever  since.  I  therefore 
recommend  that  they  be  compensated  at  the  same  rate  as 
chaplams  in  the  army.  I  further  suggest  that  general  pro- 
vision be  made  for  chaplains  to  serve  at  hospitals,  as  well  as 
with  regiments. 

"  The  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  presents  in  detail 
the  operations  of  that  branch  of  the  service,  the  activity  and 
energy  which  have  characterized  its  administration,  and  the 
results  of  measures  to  increase  its  efficiency  and  power.  Such 
have  been  the  additions,  by  construction  and  purchase,  that  it 
may  almost  be  said  a  navy  has  been  created  and  brought  into 
service  since  our  difficulties  commenced. 

"  Besides  blockading  our  extensive  coast,  squadrons  larger 


156 

LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Message. 

Supreme  Court. 

Judge  McLean. 

than  ever  before  assembled  under  our  flag  have  been  put 
afloat,  and  performed  deeds  vi^hich  have  increased  our  naval 
renown. 

"  I  would  invite  special  attention  to  the  recommendation 
f  the  Secretary  for  a  more  perfect  organization  of  the  Navy 
by  introducing  additional  grades  in  the  service. 

"The  present  organization  is  defective  and  unsatisfactory, 
and  the  suggestions  submitted  by  the  Department  will,  it  is 
believed,  if  adopted,  obviate  the  difficulties  alluded  to,  pro- 
mote harmony,  and  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  JSTavy. 

"There  are  three  vacancies  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme 
Court — two  by  the  decease  of  Justices  Daniel  and  McLean, 
and  one  by  the  resignation  of  Justice  Campbell.  I  have  so 
far  forborne  making  nominations  to  fill  these  vacancies  for 
reasons  which  I  will  now  state.  Two  of  the  outgoing  judges 
resided  within  the  States  now  overrun  by  revolt ;  so  that  if 
successors  were  appointed  in  the  same  localities,  they  could 
not  now  serve  upon  their  circuits  ;  and  many  of  the  most 
competent  men  there  probably  would  not  take  the  personal 
hazard  of  accepting  to  serve,  even  here,  upon  the  Supreme 
Bench.  I  have  been  unwilling  to  throw  all  the  appointments 
northward,  thus  disabling  myself  from  doing  justice  to  the 
South  on  the  return  of  peace  ;  although  I  may  remark  that 
to  transfer  to  the  North  one  which  has  heretofore  been  in  the 
South  would  not,  with  reference  to  territory  and  population, 
be  unjust. 

"  During  the  long  and  brilliant  judicial  career  of  Judge 
McLean,  his  circuit  grew  into  an  empire — altogether  too  large 
for  any  one  judge  to  give  the  courts  therein  more  than  a 
nominal  attendance — rising  in  population  from  one  million 
four  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  and  eighteen,  in  1830,  to 
six  million  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  thousand  four  hundred 
and  five,  in  1860. 

"  Besides  this,  the  country  generally  has  outgrown  our 
present  judicial  system.     If  uniformity  was  at  all  intended, 


THE   CONGRESS   OF    1861-2.  157 


Message.  Supreme  Court.  Statute  Laws. 

the  system  requires  that  all  the  States  shall  be  accommodated 
with  circuit  courts,  attended  by  supreme  judges,  while,  ia 
fact,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Florida,  Texas, 
California,  and  Oregon,  have  never  bad  any  such  courts. 
Nor  can  this  well  be  remedied  without  a  change  in  the 
system  ;  because  the  adding  of  judges  to  the  Supreme  Court, 
enough  for  the  accommodation  of  all  parts  of  the  country, 
with  circuit  courts,  would  create  a  court  altogether  too  nu- 
merous for  a  judicial  body  of  any  sort.  And  the  evil,  if  it 
be  one,  will  increase  as  new  States  come  into  the  Union. 
Circuit  courts  are  useful,  or  they  are  not  useful ;  if  useful, 
no  State  should  be  denied  them ;  if  not  useful,  no  State 
should  have  them.  Let  them  be  provided  for  all,  or  abolished 
as  to  all. 

"  Three  modifications  occur  to  me,  either  of  which,  I  think, 
would  be  an  improvement  upon  our  present  system.  Let  the 
Supreme  Court  be  of  convenient  number  in  every  event. 
Then,  first,  let  the  whole  country  be  divided  into  circuits  of 
convenient  size,  the  supreme  judges  to  serve  in  a  number  of 
them  corresponding  to  their  own  number,  and  independent 
circuit  judges  be  provided  for  all  the  rest.  Or,  secondly,  let 
the  supreme  judges  be  relieved  from  circuit  duties,  and  circuit 
judges  provided  for  all  the  circuits.  Or,  thirdly,  dispense 
with  circuit  courts  altogether,  leaving  the  judicial  functions 
wholly  to  the  district  courts,  and  an  independent  Supreme 
Court. 

"  I  respectfully  recommend  to  the  consideration  of  Congress 
the  present  condition  of  the  statute  laws,  with  the  hope  that 
Congress  will  be  able  to  find  an  easy  remedy  for  many  of  th 
inconveniences  and  evils  which  constantly  embarrass  those 
engaged  in  the  practical  administration  of  them.  Since  the 
organization  of  the  Government,  Congress  has  enacted  some 
five  thousand  acts  and  joint  resolutions,  which  fill  more  than 
six  thousand  closely  printed  pages,  and  are  scattered  through 
many  volumes.     Many  of  these  acts   have  been  drawn  in 


158  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Messan-e.  Abolition  of  Civil  Officers. 

haste  and  without  sufficient  caution,  so  that  their  provisions 
are  often  obscure  in  themselves,  or  in  conflict  with  each  other, 
or  at  least  so  doubtful  as  to  render  it  very  difficat  for  even 
the  best  informed  persons  to  ascertain  precisely  what  the 
statute  law  really  is. 

"  It  seems  to  me  very  important  that  the  statute  laws 
fehould  be  made  as  plain  and  intelligible  as  possible,  and  be 
reduced  to  as  small  a  compass  as  may  consist  with  the  fulness 
and  precision  of  the  will  of  the  legislature  and  the  perspi- 
cuity of  its  language.  This  well  done,  would,  I  think, 
greatly  facilitate  the  labors  of  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  assist 
in  the  administration  of  the  laws,  and  would  be  a  lasting 
benefit  to  the  people,  by  placing  before  them  in  a  more  acces- 
sible and  intelligible  form,  the  laws  which  so  deeply  concern 
their  interests  and  their  duties. 

"  I  am  informed  by  some  whose  opinions  I  respect,  that  all 
the  acts  of  Congress  now  in  force,  and  of  a  permanent  and 
general  nature,  might  be  revised  and  re-written,  so  as  to  be 
embraced  in  one  volume  (or  at  most,  two  volumes)  of  ordi- 
nary and  convenient  size.  And  I  respectfully  recommend  to 
Congress  to  consider  the  subject,  and,  if  my  suggestion  be 
approved,  to  devise  such  plan  as  to  their  wisdom  shall  seem 
most  proper  for  the  attainment  of  the  end  proposed. 

"  One  of  the  unavoidable  consequences  of  the  present 
insurrection,  is  the  entire  suppression,  in  many  places,  of  all 
the  ordinary  means  of  administering  civil  justice  by  the 
officers  and  in  the  forms  of  existing  law.  This  is  the  case,  in 
whole  or  in  part,  in  all  insurgent  States  ;  and  as  our  armies 
advance  upon  and  take  possession  of  parts  of  those  States, 
the  practical  evil  becomes  more  apparent.  There  are  no 
courts  nor  officers  to  whom  the  citizens  of  other  States  may 
apply  for  the  enforcement  of  their  lawful  claims  against 
citizens  of  the  insurgent  States  ;  and  there  is  a  vast  amount 
of  debt  constituting  such  claims.  Some  have  estimated  it  as 
high  as  two  hundred  million  dollars,  due  in  large  part,  from 


THE    CONGKESS   OF    1861-2.  159 

Message.  New  Courts.  Court  of  Claims. 

insurgents  in  open  rebellion  to  loyal  citizens,  who  are  even 
now  making  great  sacrifices  in  the  discharge  of  their  patriotic 
duty,  to  support  the  Government. 

"  Under  these  circumstances,  I  have  been  urgently  solicited 
to  establish  by  military  power,  courts  to  administer  summary 
justice  in  such  cases.  I  have  thus  far  declined  to  do  it,  not 
because  I  had  any  doubt  that  the  end  proposed — the  collec- 
tion of  the  debts — was  just  and  right  in  itself,  but  because  I 
have  been  unwilling  to  go  beyond  the  pressure  of  necessity 
in  the  unusual  exercise  of  power.  But  the  powers  of  Con- 
gress, I  suppose,  are  equal  to  the  anomalous  occasion,  and 
therefore  I  refer  the  whole  matter  to  Congress,  with  the  hope 
that  a  plan  may  be  devised  for  the  administration  of  justice 
in  all  such  parts  of  the  insurgent  States  and  Territories  as 
may  be  under  the  control  of  this  Government,  whether  by  a 
voluntary  return  to  allegiance  and  order,  or  by  the  power  of 
our  arms.  This,  however,  not  to  be  a  permanent  institution, 
but  a  temporary  substitute,  and  to  cease  as  soon  as  the  ordi- 
nary courts  can  be  re-established  in  peace. 

"  It  is  important  that  some  more  convenient  means  should 
be  provided,  if  possible,  for  the  adjustment  of  claims  against 
the  Government,  especially  in  view  of  their  increased  number 
by  reason  of  the  war.  It  is  as  much  the  duty  of  Government 
to  render  prompt  justice  against  itself,  in  favor  of  citizens,  as 
it  is  to  administer  the  same  between  private  individuals.  The 
investigation  and  adjudication  of  claims,  in  their  nature,  be- 
long to  the  judicial  department;  besides,  it  is  apparent  that 
the  attention  of  Congress  will  be  more  than  usually  engaged 
for  some  time  to  come  with  great  national  questions.  It  was 
intended,  by  the  organization  of  the  Court  of  Claims,  mainly 
to  remove  this  branch  of  business  from  the  halls  of  Congress  ; 
but  while  the  court  has  proved  to  be  an  effective  and  valuable 
means  of  investigation,  it  in  a  great  degree  fails  to  effect  the 
object  of  its  creation  for  want  of  power  to  make  its  judgments 
final 


160  LIFE   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Message.  Report  of  Postmaster-General. 

"  Fully  aware  of  the  delicacy,  not  to  say  the  danger,  of  the 
subject,  I  commend  to  your  careful  consideration  whether  this 
power  of  making  judgments  final  may  not  properly  be  given 
to  the  court,  reserving  the  right  of  appeal  on  questions  of  law 
to  the  Supreme  Court,  with  such  other  provisions  as  exper- 
ience may  have  shown  to  be  necessary. 

"I  ask  attention  to  the  report  of  the  Postmaster  General, 
the  following  being  a  summary  statement  of  the  condition  of 
the  department : 

"  The  revenue  from  all  sources  during  the  fiscal  year  ending 
June  30th,  1861,  including  the  annual  permanent  appropria- 
tion of  seven  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  the  transportation 
of  '  free  mail  matter,'  was  nine  million  forty-nine  thousand 
two  hundred  and  ninety-six  dollars  and  forty  cents,  being 
about  two  per  cent,  less  than  the  revenue  for  1860. 

"  The  expenditures  were  thirteen  million  six  hundred  and 
six  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty-nine  dollars  and  eleven 
cents,  showing  a  decrease  of  more  than  eight  per  cent,  as 
compared  with  those  of  the  previous  year,  and  leaving  an 
excess  of  expenditure  over  the  revenue  for  the  last  fiscal  year 
of  four  million  five  hundred  and  fifty-seven  thousand  four 
hundred  and  sixty-two  dollars  and  seventy-one  cents. 

"The  gross  revenue  for  the  year  ending  June  30th,  1863, 
is  estimated  at  an  increase  of  four  per  cent,  on  that  of  1861, 
making  eight  million  six  hundred  and  eighty-three  thousand 
dollars,  to  which  should  be  added  the  earnings  of  the  depart- 
ment in  carrying  free  matter,  viz  :  seven  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  making  nine  million  three  hundred  and  eighty-three 
thousand  dollars. 

"  The  total  expenditures  for  1863  are  estimated  at  twelve 
million  five  hundred  and  twenty-eight  thousand  dollars,  leav- 
ing an  estimated  deficiency  of  three  million  one  hundred  and 
forty-five  thousand  dollars  to  be  supplied  from  the  treasury, 
in  addition  to  the  permanent  appropriation. 

"  The  present  insurrection  shows,  I  think,  that  the  extension 


THE    COXGRESS    OF    1861-2.  161 

Message.  Interior  Department.  Pension  Office, 

of  this  District  across  the  Potomac  river,  at  the  time  of  estab- 
lishing the  capital  here,  was  eminently  wise,  and  consequently 
that  the  relinquishment  of  that  portion  of  it  which  lies  within 
the  State  of  Virginia  was  unwise  and  dangerous.  I  submit 
for  your  consideration  the  expediency  of  regaining  that  part 
of  the  District,  and  the  restoration  of  the  original  boundaries 
thereof,  through  negotiations  with  the  state  of  Virginia. 

"  The  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  with  the  ac- 
companying documents,  exhibits  the  condition  of  the  several 
branches  of  the  public  business  pertaining  to  that  department. 
The  depressing  influences  of  the  insurrection  have  been 
specially  felt  in  the  operations  of  the  Patent  and  General 
Land  Offices.  The  cash  receipts  from  the  sales  of  public 
lauds  during  the  past  year  have  exceeded  the  expenses  of  our 
land  system  only  about  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The 
sales  have  been  entirely  suspended  in  the  Southern  States, 
while  the  interruptions  to  the  business  of  the  country,  and 
the  diversions  of  large  numbers  of  men  from  labor  to  military 
service,  have  obstructed  settlements  in  the  new  States  and 
Territories  of  the  North-west. 

"  The  receipts  of  the  Patent  Office  have  declined  in  nine 
months  about  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  rendering  a  large 
reduction  of  the  force  employed  necessary  to  make  it  self- 
sustaining. 

"  The  demands  upon  the  Pension  Office  will  be  largely  in- 
creased by  the  insurrection.  Numerous  applications  for 
pensions,  based  upon  the  casualties  of  the  existing  war,  have 
already  been  made.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  many  who 
are  now  upon  the  pension  rolls,  and  in  receipt  of  the  bounty 
of  the  Government,  are  in  the  ranks  of  the  insurgent  army,  or 
giving  them  aid  and  comfort.  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
has  directed  a  suspension  of  the  payment  of  the  pensions  of 
such  persons  upon  the  proof  of  their  disloyalty.  I  recommend 
that  Congress  authorize  that  officer  to  cause  the  names  of 
such  persons  to  be  stricken  from  the  pension  rolls 
11 


162  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM   LUSTCOLN". 

Message.  Indian  Troubles.  Agricultnral  Bureau 

"  The  relations  of  the  Government  with  the  Indian  tribes 
have  been  greatly  disturbed  by  the  insurrection,  especially  in 
the  Southern  Superintendency  and  in  that  of  New  Mexico 
The  Indian  country  south  of  Kansas  is  in  the  possession  of 
insurgents  from  Texas  and  Arkansas.  The  agents  of  the 
United  States  appointed  since  the  4th  of  March  .for  this  super- 
intendency have  been  unable  to  reach  their  posts,  while  the 
most  of  those  who  were  in  office  before  that  time  have  es- 
poused the  insurrectionary  cause,  and  assume  to  exercise  the 
powers  of  agents  by  virtue  of  commissions  from  the  insurrec- 
tionists. It  has  been  stated  in  the  public  press  that  a  portion 
of  those  Indians  have  been  organized  as  a  military  force,  and 
are  attached  to  the  army  of  the  insurgents.  Although  the 
Government  has  no  official  information  upon  this  subject, 
letters  have  been  written  to  the  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs  by  several  prominent  chiefs,  giving  assurance  of  their 
loyalty  to  the  United  States,  and  expressing  a  wish  for  the 
presence  of  Federal  troops  to  protect  them.  It  is  believed 
that  upon  the  repossession  of  the  country  by  the  Federal 
forces  the  Indians  will  readily  cease  all  hostile  demonstrations, 
and  resume  their  former  relations  to  the  Government. 

"  Agriculture,  confessedly  the  largest  interest  of  the  nation, 
has  not  a  department,  nor  a  bureau,  but  a  clerkship  only, 
assigned  to  it  in  the  Government.  While  it  is  fortunate  that 
this  great  interest  is  so  independent  in  its  nature  as  to  not 
have  demanded  and  extorted  more  from  the  Government,  I 
respectfully  ask  Congress  to  consider  whether  something 
more  can  not  be  given  voluntarily  with  general  advantage. 

"Annual  reports  exhibiting  the  condition  of  our  agriculture, 
commerce,  and  manufactures,  would  present  a  fund  of  infor- 
mation of  great  practical  value  to  the  country.  While  I  make 
no  suggestion  as  to  details,  I  venture  the  opinion  that  an 
agricultural  and  statistical  bureau  might  profitably  be  organ- 
ized. 

"  The  execution  of  the   laws  for  the  suppression  of  the 


THE   CONGRESS  OF   1861-2.  163 

Message.  Slave  Trade.  New  Territories. 

African  slave-trade  has  been  confided  to  the  Department  of 
the  Interior.  It  is  a  subject  of  gratulation  that  the  efforts 
which  have  been  made  for  the  suppression  of  this  inhuman 
traffic  have  been  recently  attended  with  unusual  success. 
Five  vessels  being  fitted  out  for  the  slave-trade  have  been 
seized  and  condemned.  Two  mates  of  vessels  engaged  in  the 
trade,  and  one  person  in  equipping  a  vessel  as  a  slaver,  have 
been  convicted  and  subjected  to  the  penalty  of  fine  and  im- 
prisonment, and  one  captain,  taken  with  a  cargo  of  Africans 
on  board  his  vessel,  has  been  convicted  of  the  highest  grade 
of  offence  under  our  laws,  the  punishment  of  which  is  death, 

"  The  Territories  of  Colorado,  Dakota,  and  Nevada,  created 
by  the  last  Congress,  have  been  organized,  and  civil  adminis- 
tration has  been  inaugurated  therein  under  auspices  especially 
gratifying,  when  it  is  considered  that  the  leaven  of  treason 
was  found  existing  in  some  of  these  new  countries  when  the 
Federal  officers  arrived  there, 

"  The  abundant  natural  resources  of  these  Territories,  with 
the  security  and  protection  afforded  by  organized  government, 
will  doubtless  invite  to  them  a  large  immigration  when  peace 
shall  restore  the  business  of  the  country  to  its  accustomed 
channels.  I  submit  the  resolutions  of  the  Legislature  of 
Colorado,  which  evidence  the  patriotic  spirit  of  the  people  of 
the  Territory.  So  far,  the  authority  of  the  United  States  has 
been  upheld  in  all  the  Territories,  as  it  is  hoped  it  will  be  in 
the  future.  I  commend  their  interests  and  defence  to  the  en- 
lightened and  generous  care  of  Congress. 

"  I  recommend  to  the  favorable  consideration  of  Congress 
the  interests  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  The  insurrection 
has  been  the  cause  of  much  suffering  and  sacrifice  to  its  in- 
habitants, and  as  they  have  no  representative  in  Congress, 
that  body  should  not  overlook  their  just  claims  upon  the 
Government. 

"At  your  late  session  a  joint  resolution  was  adopted  author- 
izing the  President  to  take  measures  for  facilitating  a  proper 


164  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN". 

Message.  Confiscation  Act.  Colonization. 

representation  of  the  industrial  interests  of  the  United  States 
at  the  exhibition  of  the  industry  of  all  nations,  to  be  holden  in 
London  in  the  year  1862.  I  regret  to  say  I  have  been 
unable  to  give  personal  attention  to  this  subject — a  subject 
at  once  so  interesting  in  itself,  and  so  extensively  and  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  material  prosperity  of  the  world. 
Through  the  Secretaries  of  State  and  of  the  Interior  a  plan, 
or  system,  has  been  devised,  and  partly  matured,  and  which 
will  be  laid  before  you. 

"  Under  and  by  virtue  of  the  act  of  Congress  entitled  'An 
act  to  confiscate  property  used  for  insurrectionary  purposes,' 
approved  August  6,  1861,  the  legal  claims  of  certain  persons 
to  the  labor  and  service  of  certain  other  persons  have  become 
forfeited ;  and  numbers  of  the  latter,  thus  liberated,  are 
already  dependent  on  the  United  States,  and  must  be  provided 
for  in  some  way.  Besides  this,  it  is  not  impossible  that  some 
of  the  States  will  pass  similar  enactments  for  their  own  bene- 
fit respectively,  and  by  operation  of  which  persons  of  the 
same  class  will  be  thrown  upon  them  for  disposal.  In  such 
case  I  recommend  that  Congress  provide  for  accepting  such 
persons  from  such  States  according  to  some  mode  of  valua- 
tion, in  lieu,  pro  tanto,  of  direct  taxes,  or  upon  some  other 
plan  to  be  agreed  on  with  such  States,  respectively ;  that 
such  persons,  on  such  acceptance  by  the  General  Government, 
be  at  once  deemed  ft'ee ;  and,  that,  in  any  event,  steps  be 
taken  for  colonizing  both  classes  (or  the  one  first  mentioned, 
if  the  other  shall  not  be  brought  into  existence)  at  some  place 
or  places  in  a  climate  congenial  to  them.  It  might  be  well  to 
consider,  too,  whether  the  free  colored  people  already  in  the 
United  States  could  not,  so  far  as  individuals  may  desire,  be 
included  in  such  colonization. 

"  To  carry  out  the  plan  of  colonization  may  involve  the 
acquiring  of  territory,  and  also  the  appropriation  of  money 
beyond  that  to  be  expended  in  the  territorial  acquisition. 
Having  practiced  the  acquisition  of  territory  for  nearly  sixty 


THE   COKGEESS   OF    1861-2.  165 

Message.  Louisiana  Purchase.  Bloclvade. 

years,  the  question  of  constitutional  power  to  do  so  is  no 
longer  an  open  one  with  us.  The  power  was  questioned  at 
"first  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  who,  however,  in  the  purchase  of 
Louisiana,  yielded  his  scruples  on  the  plea  of  great  expe- 
diency. If  it  be  said  that  the  only  legitimate  object  of  ac- 
quiring territory  is  to  furnish  homes  for  white  men,  this 
measure  effects  that  object,  for  the  emigration  of  colored  men 
leaves  additional  room  for  white  men  remaining  or  coming 
here.  Mr.  Jefferson,  however,,  placed  the  importance  of  pro- 
curing Louisiana  more  on  political  and  commercial  grounds 
than  on  providing  room  for  population. 

"  On  this  whole  proposition,  including  the  appropriation  of 
money  with  the  acquisition  of  territory,  does  not  the  expedi- 
ency amount  to  absolute  necessity — that  without  which  the 
Government  itself  cannot  be  perpetuated  ? 

"  The  war  continues.  In  considering  the  policy  to  be 
adopted  for  suppressing  the  insurrection,  I  have  been  anxious 
and  careful  that  the  inevitable  conflict  for  this  purpose  shall 
not  degenerate  into  a  violent  and  remorseless  revolutionary 
struggle.  I  have,  therefore,  in  every  case  thought  it  proper 
to  keep  the  integrity  of  the  Union  prominent  as  the  primary 
object  of  the  contest  on  our  part,  leaving  all  questions  which 
are  not  of  vital  military  importance  to  the  more  deliberate 
action  of  the  legislature. 

"  In  the  exercise  of  my  best  discretion,  I  have  adhered  to 
the  blockade  of  the  ports  held  by  the  insurgents,  instead  of 
putting  in  force,  by  proclamation,  the  law  of  Congress 
enacted  at  the  late  session  for  closing  those  ports. 

"  So,  also,  obeying  the  dictates  of  prudence,  as  well  as  the 
obligations  of  law,  instead  of  transcending,  I  have  adhered  to 
the  act  of  Congress  to  confiscate  property  used  for  insurrec- 
tionary purposes.  If  a  new  law  upon  the  same  subject  shall 
be  proposed,  its  propriety  will  be  duly  considered.  The 
Union  must  be  preserved ;  and  hence  all  indispensable  means 
must  be  employed.     We  should  not  be  in  haste  to  determine 


j.t)5  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Message.  Maryland.  Kentucky.  Mifsnuri. 

that  radical  and  extreme  measures,  which  may  reach  the  loyal 
as  well  as  the  disloyal,  are  indispensable. 

"  The  inaugural  address  at  the  beginning  of  the  adminis- 
tration, and  the  message  to  Congress  at  the  late  special 
session,  were  both  mainly  devoted  to  the  domestic  controversy 
out  of  which  the  insurrection  and  consequent  war  have 
sprung.  Nothing  now  occurs  to  add  or  subtract  to  or  from 
the  principles  or  general  purposes  stated  and  expressed  in 
those  documents. 

"  The  last  ray  of  hope  for  preserving  the  Union  peaceably 
expired  at  the  assault  upon  Fort  Sumter;  and  a  general 
review  of  what  has  occurred  since  may  not  be  unprofitable. 
What  was  painfully  uncertain  then  is  much  better  defined  and 
more  distinct  now  ;  and  the  progress  of  events  is  plainly  in 
the  right  direction.  The  insurgents  confidently  claimed  a 
strong  support  from  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  and  the 
friends  of  the  Union  were  not  free  from  apprehension  on  the 
point.  This,  however,  was  soon  settled  definitely,  and  on 
the  right  side.  South  of  the  line,  noble  little  Delaware  led 
off  right  from  the  first.  Maryland  was  made  to  seem  against 
the  Union  Our  soldiers  were  assaulted,  bridges  were  burned, 
and  railroads  torn  up  within  her  limits,  and  we  were  many 
days,  at  one  time,  without  the  ability  to  bring  a  single  regi- 
ment over  her  soil  to  the  capital.  Now  her  bridges  and 
railroads  are  repaired  and  open  to  the  Government ;  she 
already  gives  seven  regiments  to  the  cause  of  the  Union  and 
none  to  the  enemy;  and  her  people,  at  a  regular  election, 
have  sustained  the  Union  by  a  larger  majority  and  a  larger 
aggregate  vote  than  they  ever  before  gave  to  any  candidate 
or  any  question.  Kentucky,  too,  for  some  time  in  doubt,  is 
now  decidedly,  and,  I  think,  unchangeably,  ranged  on  the 
side  of  the  Union.  Missouri  is  comparitively  quiet,  and  I 
believe  can  not  again  be  overrun  by  the  insurrectionists. 
These  three  States  of  Maryland,  Kentucky  and  Missouri, 
neither  of  which  would  promise  a  single  soldier  at  first,  have 


THE    CONGRESS   OF    1861-2.  167 

Message.  Progress  of  our  Arms.  Gen.  Scott. 


now  an  aggregate  of  not  less  than  forty  thousand  in  the  field 
for  the  Union  ;  while  of  their  citizens  certainly  not  more  than 
a  third  of  that  number,  and  they  of  doubtful  whereabouts  and 
doubtful  existence,  are  in  arms  against  it.  After  a  somewhat 
bloody  struggle  of  months,  winter  closes  on  the  Union 
people  of  Western  Virginia,  leaving  them  masters  of  their 
own  country. 

"An  insurgent  force  of  about  fifteen  hundred,  for  months 
dominating  the  narrow  peninsular  region,  constituting  the 
counties  of  Accomac  and  Northampton,  and  known  as .  the 
eastern  shore  of  Virginia,  together  with  some  contiguous 
parts  of  Maryland,  have  laid  down  their  arms  ;  and  the  people 
there  have  renewed  their  allegiance  to,  and  accepted  the 
protection  of  the  old  flag.  This  leaves  no  armed  insurrec- 
tionist north  of  the  Potomac  or  east  of  the  Chesapeake. 

"Also  we  have  obtained  a  footing  at  each  of  the  isolated 
points,  on  the  southern  coast,  of  Hatteras,  Port  Royal,  Tybee 
Island,  near  Savannah,  and  Ship  Island  ;  and  we  likewise 
have  some  general  accounts  of  popular  movements,  in  behalf 
of  the  Union,  in  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee. 

"  These  things  demonstrate  that  the  cause  of  the  Union  is 
advancing  steadily  and  certainly  southward. 

"  Since  your  last  adjournment,  Lieut.-Gen.  Scott  has  retired 
from  the  head  of  the  army.  During  his  long  life,  the  nation 
has  not  been  unmindful  of  his  merit ;  yet,  on  calling  to  mind 
how  faithfully,  ably  and  brilliantly  he  has  served  the  country, 
from  a  time  far  back  in  our  history,  when  few  pf  the  now 
living  had  been  born,  and  thenceforward  continually,  I  can 
not  but  think  we  are  still  his  debtors.  I  submit,  therefore, 
for  your  consideration,  what  further  mark  of  recognition  is 
due  to  him,  and  to  ourselves,  as  a  grateful  people. 

"  With  the  retirement  of  Gen.  Scott  came  the  Executive 
duty  of  appointing,  in  his  stead,  a  General-in-chief  of  the 
army.  It  is  a  fortunate  circumstance  that  neither  in  council 
nor  country  was  there,  so  far  as  I  know,  any  difference  of 


168  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Message.  Gen.  McClellan.  Monarchy  Possible. 

opinion  as  to  the  proper  person  to  be  selected.  The  retiring 
chief  repeatedly  expressed  his  judgment  in  favor  of  Gen.  Mc- 
Clellan for  the  position,  and  in  this  the  nation  seemed  to  give 
a,  unanimous  concurrence.  The  designation  of  Gen.  McClellan 
is,  therefore,  in  considerable  degree,  the  selection  of  the 
country  as  well  as  of  the  Executive  ;  and  hence  there  is  better 
reason  to  hope  there  will  be  given  him  the  confidence  and 
cordial  support  thus,  by  fair  implication,  promised,  and  with- 
out which  he  can  not,  with  so  full  efficiency,  serve  the  country. 

"It  has  been  said  that  one  bad  General  is  better  than  two 
good  ones ;  and  the  saying  is  true,  if  taken  to  mean  no  more 
than  that  an  army  is  better  directed  by  a  single  mind,  though 
inferior,  than  by  two  superior  ones  at  variance  and  cross- 
purposes  with  each  other. 

"And  the  same  is  true  in  all  joint  operations  wherein  those 
engaged  can  have  none  but  a  common  end  in  view,  and  caii 
differ  onlv  as  to  the  choice  of  means.  In  a  storm  at  sea,  no 
one  on  board  can  wish  the  ship  to  sink,  and  yet,  not  unfre- 
quently,  all  go  down  together  because  too  many  will  direct 
and  no  single  mind  can  be  allowed  to  control. 

"  It  continues  to  develop  that  the  insurrection  is  largely,  if 
not  exclusively,  a  war  upon  the  first  principle  of  popular  gov- 
ernment— the  rights  of  the  people.  Conclusive  evidence  of 
this  is  found  in  the  most  grave  and  maturely-considered  pub- 
lic documents,  as  well  as  in  the  general  tone  of  the  insurgents. 
In  those  documents  we  find  the  abridgment  of  the  existing 
right  of  suffrage  and  the  denial  to  the  people  of  all  right  to 
participate  in  the  selection  of  public  officers,  except  the  legis- 
lative, boldly  advocated,  with  labored  arguments  to  prove  that 
large  control  of  the  people  in  government  is  the  source  of  all 
political  evil.  Monarchy  itself  is  sometimes  hinted  at  as  a 
possible  refuge  from  the  power  of  the  people. 

"  In  my  present  position  I  could  scarcely  be  justified  were  I 
to  omit  raising  a  warning  voice  against  this  approach  of  re- 
turning despotism. 


THE   CONGRESS   OF    1861-2.  169 

Message.  Labor  and  Capital.  North  and  South. 

"  It  is  not  needed  nor  fitting  here  that  a  general  argument 
should  be  made  in  favor  of  popular  institutions  ;  but  there  is 
one  point,  with  its  connections,  not  so  hackneyed  as  most 
others,  to  which  I  ask  a  brief  attention.  It  is  the  effort  to 
place  capital  on  an  equal  footing  with,  if  not  above  labor,  in 
the  structure  of  government.  It  is  assumed  that  labor  is 
available  only  in  connection  with  capital — that  nobody  labors 
unless  somebody  else,  owning  capital,  somehow  by  the  use  of 
it  induces  him  to  labor.  This  assumed,  it  is  next  considered 
whether  it  is  best  that  capital  shall  hire  laborers,  and  thus 
induce  them  to  work  by  their  own  consent,  or  buy  them, 
and  drive  them  to  it  without  their  consent.  Having  proceeded 
so  far,  it  is  naturally  concluded  that  all  laborers  are  either 
hired  laborers,  or  what  we  call  slaves.  And  further,  it  is 
assumed  that  whoever  is  once  a  hired  laborer  is  fixed  in  that 
condition  for  life. 

"  Now,  there  is  no  such  relation  between  capital  and  labor  as 
assumed  ;  nor  is  there  any  such  thing  as  a  free  man  being  fixed 
for  life  in  the  condition  of  a  hired  laborer.  Both  these  assump- 
tions are  false,  and  all  inferences  from  them  are  groundless. 

"  Labor  is  prior  to  and  independent  of  capital.  Capital  is 
only  the  fruit  of  labor,  and  could  never  have  existed  if  labor  had 
not  first  existed.  Labor  is  the  superior  of  capital,  and  deserves 
much  the  higher  consideration.  Capital  has  its  rights,  which 
are  as  worthy  of  protection  as  any  other  rights.  Nor  is  it 
denied  that  there  is,  and  probably  always  will  be,  a  relation 
between  labor  and  capital  producing  mutual  benefits.  The 
error  is  in  assuming  that  the  whole  labor  of  community  exists 
within  that  relation.  A  few  men  own  capital,  and  that  few 
avoid  labor  themselves,  and  with  their  capital  hire  or  buy 
another  few  to  labor  for  them.  A  large  majority  belong  to 
neither  class — neither  work  for  others  nor  have  others  working 
for  them.  In  most  of  the  Southern  States  a  majority  of  the 
whole  people,  of  all  colors,  are  neither  slaves  nor  masters, 
while  in  the  Northern  a  large  majority  are  neither  hirers  nor 


170  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Message.  Change  of  Laborer's  Condition.  Population. 

hired.  Men,  with  their  families — wives,  sons,  and  daughters — 
work  for  themselves,  on  their  farms,  in  their  houses,  and  in 
their  shops,  taking  the  whole  product  to  themselves,  and  asking 
no  favors  of  capital,  on  the  one  hand,  nor  of  hired  laborers  or 
slaves  on  the  other.  It  is  not  forgotten  that  a  considerable 
number  of  persons  mingle  their  own  labor  with  capital — that 
is,  they  labor  with  their  own  hands,  and  also  buy  or  hire  others 
to  labor  for  them  ;  but  this  is  only  a  mixed,  and  not  a  distinct 
class.  No  principle  stated  is  disturbed  by  the  existence  of  this 
mixed  class. 

"  Again,  as  has  already  been  said,  there  is  not,  of  necessity, 
any  such  thing  «,s  the  free  hired  laborer  being  fixed  to  that 
condition  for  life.  Many  independent  men  everywhere  in  these 
States,  a  few  years  back  in  their  lives,  were  hired  laborers. 
The  prudent,  penniless  beginner  in  the  world,  labors  for  wages 
awhile,  saves  a  surplus  with  which  to  buy  tools  or  land  for  him- 
self, then  labors  on  his  own  account  another  while,  and  at  length 
hires  anothernew  beginner  to  help  him.  This  is  the  just,  and 
generous,  and  prosperous  system,  which  opens  the  way  to  all — 
gives  hope  to  all,  and  consequent  energy,  and  progress,  and 
improvement  of  condition  to  all.  No  men  living  are  more 
worthy  to  be  trusted  than  those  who  toil  up  from  poverty  ; 
none  less  inclined  to  take  or  touch  aught  which  they  have  not 
honestly  earned.  Let  them  beware  of  surrendering  a  political 
power  which  they  already  possess,  and  which,  if  surrendered, 
will  surely  be  used  to  close  the  door  of  advancement  against 
such  as  they,  and  to  fix  new  disabilities  and  burdens  upon 
them,  till  all  of  liberty  shall  be  lost. 

"  From  the  first  taking  of  our  National  Census  to  the  last  are 
seventy  years ;  and  we  find  our  population  at  the  end  of  the 
period  eight  times  as  great  as  it  was  at  the  beginning.  The 
increase  of  those  other  things  which  men  deem  desirable  has 
been  even  greater.  We  thus  have  at  one  view  what  the  popu- 
lar principle,  applied  to  Government  through  the  machinery  of 
the  States  and  the  Union,  has  produced  in  a  given  time,  and 


THE   SLAVEEY  QUESTION.  171 

Message.  Acts  of  Congress.  Confiscation. 

also  what  if  firmly  maintained,  it  promises  for  the  future. 
There  are  already  among  us  those  who,  if  the  Union  be  pre- 
served, will  live  to  see  it  contain  two  hundred  and  fifty  millions. 
The  struggle  0/ to-day  is  not  altogether /or  to-day  ;  it  is  for  a 
vast  future  also.  With  a  reliance  on  Providence  all  the  more 
firm  and  earnest,  let  us  proceed  in  the  great  task  which  events 
have  devolved  upon  us. 

"Abraham  Lincoln. 
"  Washington,  December  3,  1861.  " 

At  this  session,  provision  was  made  for  the  issue  of  legal 
tender  notes,  and  an  internal  revenue  bill  was  matured,  for 
the  purposing  of  increasing  largely  the  receipts  of  the  Treasury, 
affording  a  basis* for  the  payment  of  interest  on  authorized 
loans,  and  insuring  confidence  in  the  National  currency. 

A  Congressional  committee  on  the  conduct  of  the  war  was 
also  appointed,  the  evidence  obtained  by  which  was  submitted 
to  the  President  for  his  consideration  and  eventually  given  to 
the  public. 

A  confiscation  bill  was  passed,  with  a  special  provision  for 
conditional  pardon  and  amnesty,  limiting  the  forfeiture  of  real 
estate  to  the  lifetime  of  its  rebel  owners. 


CHAPTER  XL 


THE   SLAVERY  QUESTION. 


Sitnation  of  the  President— His  Policy— Gradual  Emancipation  Message— Abolition  of 
Slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia— Kepiuliation  of  General  Hunter's  Emancipation 
Order— Conference  with  Congressmen  from  the  Border  Slave  States — Address  to  the 
same — Military  Order — Proclamation  under  the  Confiscation  Act. 

What  was  to  be  the  final  disposition  of  the  question  of 
slavery  could  not  be  thrust  aside.  The  intimate  connection 
of  this  institution  with  our  military  operations,  was  perpetually 


172  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Message.  Position  touching  Slavery.  Special  Message. 

forcing  it  upon  the  attention  of  the  nation.  This  subject  had, 
since  it  had  been  rendei'ed  patent  to  all,  that  it  was  to  be  no 
holiday  struggle  in  which  we  were  engaged,  bat  a  life  and 
death  grapple  with  desperate  and  determined  foes,  been  ever 
present  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  mind.  His  action  was,  however,  to 
a  certain  extent,  not  suffered  to  be  independent.  Could  he 
have  boldly  assumed  the  initiative,  assured  that  the  great 
mass  of  the  people  were  at  his  back,  he  could  have  acted  far 
otherwise  than  he  was  necessitated  to  act,  considering  the 
delicate  nature  of  the  question,  the  utter  lack  of  precedents, 
the  intertwining  of  interests,  the  dangers  resulting  from 
a  single  misstep,  the  divisions  on  this  point,  existing  in  the 
ranks  even  of  his  own  political  supporters,  and  the  conflict- 
ing views  held  by  men  whose  loyalty  and  devotion  to  the 
country  were  unimpeachable. 

He  chose  not  to  go  far  ahead  of  popular  indications ;  he 
deemed  it  the  wiser  statesmanship,  in  the  existing  state  of 
affaii's,  to  keep  in  the  lead  but  a  little,  feeling,  so  to  speak, 
his  way  along — making  haste  slowly.  That  this  would  dis- 
satisfy many  of  his  political  friends  he  well  knew ;  but  he, 
upon  mature  deliberation,  decided  that  it  was  for  the  interest 
of  the  country,  and  that  to  that  consideration  everything  else 
must  yield. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  1862,  he  sent  to  the  Congress  the  fol- 
lowing message  concerning  this  question,  the  resolution 
embodied  in  which,  was  passed  by  both  Houses  : 

"  Fellow- Citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  op  Repre- 
sentatives : — I  recommend  the  adoption  of  a  joint  resolu- 
tion by  your  honorable  bodies,  which  shall  be  substantially  as 
follows : 

"Resolved,  That  the  United  States  ought  to  cooperate  with 
any  State  which  may  adopt  gradual  abolishment  of  slavery, 
giving  to  such  State  pecuniary  aid,  to  be  used  by  such  State 
in  its  discretion,  to  compensate  for  the  inconveniences,  public 
and  private,  produced  by  such  change  of  system. 


THE   SLAVERY   QUESTIOlSr.  173 

Special  Message.  Gradual  Emancipation. 

"  If  the  proposition  contained  in  the  resolution  does  not 
meet  the  approval  of  Congress  and  the  country,  there  is  the 
end  ;  but  if  it  does  command  such  approval,  I  deem  it  of 
importance  that  the  States  and  people  immediately  interested, 
should  be  at  once  distinctly  notified  of  the  fact,  so  that  they 
may  begin  to  consider  whether  to  accept  or  reject  it.  The 
Federal  Goveniment  would  find  its  highest  interest  in  such 
a  measure  as  one  of  the  most  efficient  means  of  self-preserva- 
tion. The  leaders  of  the  existing  insurrection  entertain  the 
hope  that  this  Government  will  ultimately  be  forced  to 
acknowledge  the  independence  of  some  part  of  the  disaffected 
region,  and  that  all  the  slave  States  north  of  such  part  will 
then  say,  '  the  Union  for  which  we  have  struggled  being 
already  gone,  we  now  choose  to  go  with  the  southern 
section.'  To  deprive  them  of  this  hope  substantially  ends  the 
rebellion,  and  the  initiation  of  emancipation  completely  de- 
prives them  of  it  as  to  all  the  States  initiating  it.  The  point 
is  not  that  all  the  States  tolerating  slavery  would  very  soon, 
if  at  all,  initiate  emancipation,  but  that,  while  the  offer  is 
equally  made  to  all,  the  more  northern  shall,  by  such  initia- 
tion, make  it  certain  to  the  more  southern  that  in  no  event 
will  the  former  ever  join  the  latter  in  their  proposed  con- 
federacy. I  say  'initiation,'  because  in  my  judgment, 
gradual,  and  not  sudden  emancipation,  is  better  for  all.  In 
the  mere  financial  or  pecuniary  view,  any  member  of  Congress, 
with  the  census  tables  and  treasury  reports  before  him,  can 
readily  see  for  himself  how  very  soon  the  current  expenditures 
of  this  war  would  purchase,  at  fair  valuation,  all  the  slaves 
in  any  named  State.  Such  a  proposition  on  the  part  of  tht 
general  Government  sets  up  no  claim  of  a  right  by  Federal 
authority  to  interfere  with  slavery  within  State  limits,  refer- 
ring, as  it  does,  the  absolute  control  of  the  subject  in  each 
case  to  the  State  and  its  people  immediately  interested.  It 
is  proposed  as  a  matter  of  perfectjy  free  choice  with  them. 

"  In  the  annual  message  last  December,  I  thought  fit  to 


174  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

(Special  Message.  Abolition  of  Slavery  in  District. 

Bay,  'the  Union  must  be  preserved  ;  and  hence  all  indispen- 
sable means  must  be  employed.'  I  said  this  not  hastily,  but 
deliberately.  War  has  been  made,  and  continues  to  be  an 
indispensable  means  to  this  end.  A  practical  re-acknow- 
edgment  of  the  national  authority  would  render  the  war  un- 
ecessary,  and  it  would  at  once  cease.  If,  however,  resistance 
continues,  the  war  must  also  continue,  and  it  is  impossible  to 
foresee  all  the  incidents  which  may  attend,  and  all  the  ruin 
which  may  follow  it.  Such  as  may  seem  indispensable,  or 
may  obviously  promise  great  efficiency  toward  ending  the 
struggle,  must  and  will  come. 

"  The  proposition  now  made,  though  an  offer  only,  I  hope 
it  may  be  esteemed  no  offence  to  ask  whether  the  pecuniary 
consideration  tendered  would  not  be  of  more  value  to  the 
States  and  private  persons  concerned,  than  are  the  institu- 
tions and  property  in  it,  in  the  present  aspect  of  affairs. 

"  While  it  is  true  that  the  adoption  of  the  proposed  resolu- 
tion would  be  merely  initiatory,  and  not  within  itself  a  prac- 
tical measure,  it  is  recommended  in  the  hope  that  it  would 
soon  lead  to  important  practical  results.  In  full  view  of  my 
great  responsibility  to  my  God  and  to  my  country,  I  earn- 
estly beg  the  attention  of  Congress  and  the  people  to  the 
subject. 

"March  6,  1862.  Abraham  Lincoln." 

A  bill  abolishing  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia  having 
passed  both  Houses  of  Congress  early  in  April,  the  President, 
in  communicating  his  approval  of  the  measure,  judged  it 
necessary  to  accompany  the  same  with  the  following  message  : 

"  Fellow- Citizens  op  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives : — The  act  entitled  '  An  act  for  the  release  of 
certain  persons  held  to  service  or  labor  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,'  has  this  day  been  approved  and  signed. 

"  I  have  never  doubted  the  constitutional  authority  of  Con- 
gress to  abolish  slavery  in  this  District,  and  I  have  ever  de- 
sii'ed  to  see  the  National  Capital  freed  from  the  institution  in 


THE   SLAVERY   QUESTION.  175 

District  of  Columbia.  Hunter's  Proclamation  Annulled. 


some  satisfactory  way.  Hence  there  has  never  been,  in  my 
mind,  any  question  upon  the  subject  except  the  one  of  expedi- 
ency, arising  in  view  of  all  the  circumstances.  If  there  be 
matters  within  and  about  this  act  which  might  have  taken  a 
course  or  shape  more  satisfactory  to  my  judgment,  I  do  not 
attempt  to  specify  them.  I  am  gratified  that  the  two  prin- 
ciples of  compensation  and  colonization  are  both  recognized 
and  practically  applied  in  the  act. 

"  In  the  matter  of  compensation  it  is  provided  that  claims 
may  be  presented  within  ninety  days  from  the  passage  of  the 
act,  '  but  not  thereafter,'  and  there  is  no  saving  for  minors, 
femes-covert,  insane  or  absent  persons.  I  presume  this  is 
an  omission  by  mere  oversight,  and  I  recommend  that  it  be 
supplied  by  an  amendatory  or  supplemental  act. 

"April  16,  1862.  Abraham  Lincoln." 

The  President's  repudiation,  by  the  following  proclamation, 
of  an  emancipation  order  of  General  Hunter,  was  conclusive 
evidence  that  he  was  determined  to  keep  the  control  of  this 
vexed  question  in  his  own  hands,  and  to  suffer  no  military 
commander  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  it : 

"  Whereas,  There  appears  in  the  public  prints  what  pur- 
ports to  be  a  proclamation  of  Major-General  Hunter,  in  the 
words  and  figures  following,  to  wit : 

'  Head-Quarters,  Department  op  the  South, 
'Hilton  Head,  S.   C,  May  9th,  1862. 
'  General  Orders  No.  11. 

'  The  three  States  of  Georgia,  Florida,  and  South  Carolina, 
comprising  the  Military  Department  of  the  South,  having 
deliberately  declared  themselves  no  longer  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  having  taken  up 
arms  against  the  said  United  States,  it  becomes  a  military 
necessity  to  declare  them  under  martial  law.  This  was 
accordingly  done  on  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  April,  1862. 
Slavery  and  martial  law  in  a  free  country  are  altogether  in- 
compatible.    The   persons  in   these  three    States,  Georgia, 


176  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Decision  Reversed  by  the  President.  Special  Message. 

Florida,  and  South  Carolina,  heretofore  held  as  slaves,  are 
therefore  declared  forever  free. 

*  David  Hunter,  Major- General  Commanding. 

'  Official : 

'Ed.  W   Smith,  Acting  Assistant  Adjutant  General.'' 

"And  Whereas,  The  same  is  producing  some  excitement 
and  misunderstanding, 

"  Tlierefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United 
States,  proclaim  and  declare  that  the  government  of  the  United 
States  had  no  knowledge  or  belief  of  an  intention,  on  the  part 
of  General  Hunter,  to  issue  such  a  proclamation,  nor  has  it 
yet  any  authentic  information  that  the  document  is  genuine  ; 
and  further,  that  neither  General  Hunter  nor  any  other  com- 
mander or  person  has  been  authorized  by  the  government  of 
the  United  States  to  make  proclamation  declaring  the  slaves 
of  any  State  free,  and  that  the  supposed  proclamation  now  in 
question,  whether  genuine  or  false,  is  altogether  void,  so  far 
as  respects  such  declaration. 

"  T  further  make  known,  that  whether  it  be  competent  for 
me  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy  to  declare 
the  slaves  of  any  State  or  States  free,  and  whether  at  any  time, 
or  in  any  case,  it  shall  become  a  necessity  indispensable  to  the 
maintenance  of  the  Government  to  exercise  such  supposed 
power,  are  questions  which,  under  my  responsibility,  I  reserve 
to  myself,  and  which  I  cannot  feel  justified  in  leaving  to  the 
decision  of  commanders  in  the  field.  These  are  totally  differ- 
ent questions  from  those  of  police  regulations  in  armies  and 
camps. 

"  On  the  sixth  day  of  March  last,  by  a  special  message,  I 
recommended  to  Congress  the  adoption  of  a  joint  resolution, 
to  be  substantially  as  follows  : 

"Besolved,  That  the  United  States  ought  to  cooperate  with 
any  State  which  may  adopt  a  gradual  abolishment  of  slavery, 
giving  to  such  State  pecuniary  aid,  to  be  used  by  such  State 
in  its  discretion,  to  compensate  for  the  inconveniences,  public 
and  private,  produced  by  such  change  of  system.' 


THE    SLAVERY   QUESTION".  177 

Appeal  to  Border  States.  Anticipations. 

"  The  resolution,  in  the  language  above  quoted,  was  adopt- 
ed by  large  majorities  in  both  branches  of  Congi'ess,  and  now 
stands  an  authentic,  definite  and  solemn  proposal  of  the  nation 
to  the  States  and  people  most  immediately  interested  in  the 
subject  matter.  To  the  people  of  these  States  I  now  earnest- 
ly appeal.  I  do  not  argue  ;  I  beseech  you  to  make  the  argu 
ments  for  yourselves.  You  cannot,  if  you  would,  be  blind  to 
the  signs  of  the  times.  I  beg  of  you  a  calm  and  enlarged  con- 
sideration of  them,  ranging,  if  it  may  be,  far  above  personal 
and  partisan  politics.  This  proposal  makes  common  cause 
for  a  common  object,  casting  no  reproaches  upon  any.  It  acts 
not  the  Pharisee.  The  change  it  contemplates  would  come 
gently  as  the  dews  of  Heaven,  not  rending  or  wrecking  any 
thing.  Will  you  not  embrace  it  ?  So  much  good  has  not 
been  done  by  one  effort  in  all  past  time,  as  in  the  Providence 
of  God  it  is  now  your  high  privilege  to  do.  May  the  vast 
future  not  have  to  lament  that  you  have  neglected  it. 

"  In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  nineteenth  day  of 
May,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  sixty-two,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States 
the  eighty-sixth. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

A  short  time  before  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  while  the 
country  was  in  a  state  of  great  despondency,  owing  to  the 
miscarriage  of  the  Peninsular  Campaign,  the  President, 
knowing  that  whatever  measures  events  should  point  out  as 
necessary  to  put  down  the  rebellion  must  be  adopted,  and 
anticipating  that  a  blow  directed  at  the  institution  of  slavery 
would,  probably,  at  no  distant  period  have  to  be  dealt,  in- 
vited the  Senators  and  Representatives  of  the  Border  Slave 
States  to  a  conference,  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  their 
12 


178  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Conference.  Appeal  to  Border  States. 

minds  for  the  happening  of  such  a  contingency.  On  this  oc- 
casion he  read  to  them  the  following  carefully  prepared 
address,  to  which  he  received  an  approving  response  from  but 
nine  of  the  twenty-nine  : 

"  Gentlemen  : — After  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  now 
near,  I  shall  have  no  opportunity  of  seeing  you  for 
several  months.  Believing  that  you  of  the  Border  States 
hold  more  power  for  good  than  any  other  equal  number  of 
members,  1  feel  it  a  duty  which  I  can  not  justifiably  waive  to 
make  this  appeal  to  you. 

"  I  intend  no  reproach  or  complaint  when  I  assure  you  that, 
in  my  opinion,  if  you  all  had  voted  for  the  resolution  in  the 
gradual  emancipation  message  of  last  March,  the  war  would 
now  be  substantially  ended.  And  the  plan  therein  proposed 
is  yet  one  of  the  most  potent  and  swift  means  of  ending  it. 
Let  the  States  which  are  in  rebellion  see  definitely  and  cer- 
tainly that  in  no  event  will  the  States  you  represent  ever  join 
their  proposed  Confederacy,  and  they  can  not  much  longer 
maintain  the  contest.  But  you  can  not  divest  them  of  their 
hope  to  ultimately  have  you  with  them  so  long  as  you  show 
a  determination  to  perpetuate  the  institution  within  your 
own  States.  Beat  them  at  elections,  as  you  have  over- 
whelmingly done,  and,  nothing  daunted,  they  still  claim  you 
as  their  own.  You  and  I  know  what  the  lever  of  their  power 
is.  Break  that  lever  before  their  faces,  and  they  can  shake 
you  no  more  forever. 

"  Most  of  you  have  treated  me  with  kindness  and  considera- 
tion, and  I  trust  you  will  not  now  think  I  improperly  touch 
what  is  exclusively  your  own,  when,  for  the  sake  of  the  whole 
country,  I  ask,  '  Can  you,  for  your  States,  do  better  than  to 
take  the  course  I  urge  ?'  Discarding  punctilio  and  maxims 
adapted  to  more  manageable  times,  and  looking  only  to  the 
unpreccdentedly  stern  facts  of  our  case,  can  you  do  better  in 
any  possible  event  ?  You  prefer  that  the  constitutional  rela- 
tions of  the  States  to  the  nation  shall  be  practically  restored 


THE   SLAVERY   QUESTION.  179 

Conference.  Gradual  Emancipation 

without  disturbance  of  the  institution  ;  and,  if  this  were  done, 
my  whole  duty  in  this  respect,  under  the  Constitution  and  my 
oath  of  office,  would  be  performed.  But  it  is  not  done,  and 
we  are  trying  to  accomplish  it  by  war.  The  incidents  of  the 
war  can  not  be  avoided.  If  the  war  continues  long,  as  it  must 
if  the  object  be  not  sooner  attained,  the  institution  in  your 
States  will  be  extinguished  by  mere  friction  and  abrasion — 
by  the  mere  incidents  of  the  war.  It  will  be  gone,  and  you 
will  have  nothing  valuable  in  lieu  of  it.  Much  of  its  value  is 
gone  already.  How  much  better  for  you  and  for  your  people 
to  take  the  step  which  at  once  shortens  the  war,  and  secures 
substantial  compensation  for  that  which  is  sure  to  be  wholly 
lost  in  any  other  event !  How  much  better  to  thus  save  the 
money  which  else  we  sink  forever  in  the  war  !  How  much 
better  to  do  it  while  we  can,  lest  the  war,  ere  long,  render  us 
pecuniarily  unable  to  do  it !  How  much  better  for  you,  as 
seller,  and  the  nation,  as  buyer,  to  sell  out  and  buy  out  that 
without  which  the  war  could  never  have  been,  than  to  sink 
both  the  thing  to  be  sold  and  the  price  of  it,  in  cutting  one 
another's  throats  ! 

"  I  do  not  speak  of  emancipation  at  once,  but  of  a  decision 
at  once  to  emancipate  gradually.  Room  in  South  America 
for  colonization  can  be  obtained  cheaply  and  in  abundance, 
and  when  numbers  shall  be  large  enough  to  be  company  and 
encouragement  for  one  another,  the  freed  people  will  not  be 
so  reluctant  to  go. 

"  I  am  pressed  with  a  difficulty  not  yet  mentioned — one 
which  threatens  division  among  those  who,  united,  are  none 
too  strong.  An  instance  of  it  is  known  to  you.  General 
Hunter  is  an  honest  man.  He  was,  and  I  hope  still  is,  my 
friend.  I  valued  him  none  the  less  for  his  agreeing  with  me 
in  the  general  wish  that  all  men  everywhere  could  be  freed 
He  proclaimed  all  men  free  within  certain  States,  and  I  repu- 
diated the  proclamation.  He  expected  more  good  and  less 
harm  from  the  measure  than  T  could  believe  would  follow. 


180  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINOOLX, 

Conference.  Military  Order 

Yet,  in  repudiating  it,  I  gave  dissatisfaction,  if  not  offence,  to 
many  whose  support  the  country  can  not  afford  to  lose.  And 
this  is  not  the  end  of  it.  The  pressure  in  this  direction  is  still 
upon  me,  and  is  increasing.  By  conceding  what  I  now  ask 
you  can  relieve  me,  and,  much  more,  can  relieve  the  country 
in  this  important  point, 

"  Upon  these  considerations,  I  have  again  begged  your 
attention  to  the  Message  of  March  last.  Before  leaving  the 
Capitol,  consider  and  discuss  it  among  yourselves.  You  are 
patriots  and  statesmen,  and  as  such,  I  pray  you  consider  this 
proposition,  and,  at  the  least,  commend  it  to  the  consideration 
of  your  States  and  people.  As  you  would  perpetuate  popu- 
lar government  for  the  best  people  in  the  world,  I  beseech 
you  that  you  do  in  no  wise  omit  this.  Our  common  country 
is  in  great  peril,  demanding  the  loftiest  views  and  boldest 
action  to  bring  a  speedy  relief.  Once  relieved,  its  form  of 
government  saved  to  the  world,  its  beloved  history  and  cher- 
ished memories  are  vindicated,  and  its  happy  future  fully 
assured  and  rendered  inconceivably  grand.  To  you,  more 
than  to  any  others,  the  privilege  is  given  to  assure  that  hap- 
piness, and  swell  that  grandeur,  and  to  link  your  own  names 
therewith  forever." 

On  the  twenty-second  of  July,  the  following  order  was 
issued : 

"  War  Department,  Washington,  July  22d,  1862. 

"First.  Ordered  that  military  commanders  within  the 
States  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Texas,  and  Arkansas,  in  an  ordinary 
manner  seize  and  use  any  property,  real  or  personal,  which 
may  be  necessary  or  convenient  for  their  several  commands, 
for  supplies,  or  for  other  Miilitary  purposes ;  and  that  while 
property  may  be  destroyed  for  proper  military  objects,  none 
shall  be  destroyed  in  wantonness  or  malice. 

"Second.  That  military  and  naval  commanders  shall  em- 


THE    SLAVERY   QUESTION.  181 

Confiscation  Proclamation.  General  War  Order. 

ploy  as  laborers,  within  and  from  said  States,  so  many 
persons  of  African  descent  as  can  be  advantageously  used  for 
military  or  naval  purposes,  giving  them  reasonable  wages  for 
their  labor. 

"Third.  That,  as  to  both  property,  and  persons  of  African 
descent,  accounts  shall  be  kept  sufficiently  accurate  and  in 
detail  to  show  quantities  and  amounts,  and  from  whom  both 
property  and  such  persons  shall  have  come,  as  a  basis  upon 
which  compensation  can  be  made  in  proper  cases  ;  and  the 
several  departments  of  this  government  shall  attend  to  and 
perform  their  appropriate  parts  toward  the  execution  of  these 
orders.  "  By  order  of  the  President. 

"Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War." 

And  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  July,  by  proclamation,  the  Pre- 
dent  warned  all  persons  to  cease  participating  in  aiding, 
countenancing,  or  abetting  the  rebellion,  and  to  return  to 
their  allegiance,  under  penalty  of  the  forfeitures  and  seizures 
provided  by  an  act  "to  suppress  insurrections,  to  punish 
treason  and  rebellion,  to  seize  and  confiscate  the  property  of 
rebels,  and  for  other  purposes,"  approved  July  Hth,  1862. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    PENINSULAR    CAMPAIGN. 

President's  War  Order — Reason  for  the  same — Results  in  West  and  South-west — Army  of 
the  Potomac— Presidential  Orders — Letter  to  McClellan — Order  for  Army  Corps — Tho 
Issue  of  the  Campaign — Unfortunate  Circumstances — President's  Speech  at  Union  Meet- 
ing— Comments — Operations  in  Virginia  and  Maryland — In  the  West  and  South-west. 

Early  in  1862  appeared  the  following  : 

"Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  January  2'rth,  1862 

[President's  General  War  Order,  No.  1.] 

"  Ordered,  That  the  22d  day  of  February,  1862,  be  the  day 
for  a  general  movement  of  the  land  and  naval  forces  of  Ihe 
United  States  against  the  insurgent  forces. 


182  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LIXCOLN". 

Military  Successes.  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

"  That  especially  the  Army  at  and  about  Fortress  Monroe, 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  the  Army  of  Western  Yirginia,  the 
Army  near  Mumfordsville,  Kentucky,  the  Army  and  Flotilla 
at  Cairo,  and  a  Naval  force  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  be  ready 
for  a  movement  on  that  day. 

"  That  all  other  forces,  both  land  and  naval,  with  their  re- 
spective commanders,  obey  existing  orders  for  the  time,  and 
be  ready  to  obey  additional  orders  when  duly  given. 

"  That  the  Heads  of  Departments,  and  especially  the  Sec- 
retaries of  War  and  of  the  Navy,  with  all  their  subordinates, 
and  the  General-in-chief,  with  all  other  commanders  and 
subordinates  of  land  and  naval  forces,  will  severally  be  held  to 
their  strict  and  full  responsibilities  for  the  prompt  execution 
of  this  order. 

"Abraham  Lincoln." 

In  thus  resuming  whatever  of  his  constitutional  duties  as 
Commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy  might  have  been 
temporarily  devolved  upon  others,  and  directing  immediate 
and  energetic  aggressive  measures,  the  President  only  acted 
as  the  exponent  of  the  popular  feeling,  which  had  become 
manifest,  of  dissatisfaction  at  the  apparently  inexcusable  want 
of  action  in  military  affairs. 

In  the  West  and  South-west  followed  the  successful  battle 
at  Mill  Spring,  Kentucky  ;  the  capture  of  Forts  Henry  and 
Donelson,  compelling  the  evacuation  of  Nashville,  and  ridding 
Kentucky  of  any  organized  rebel  force ;  the  hardly  contested, 
but  successful  battle  of  Pea  Ridge,  Arkansas,  relieving  Mis- 
souri, in  a  great  degree ;  victory  for  our  arms  wrested  from 
the  jaws  of  defeat  at  Shiloh ;  and  the  occupation  of  New 
Orleans,  giving  control  of  the  Mouth  of  the  Mississippi. 

What  at  the  East  ? — Roanoke  Island. 

Touching  the  movements  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  to 
which  the  country  looked  so  expectantly  for  grand  results, 
efficiently  officered,  thoroughly  disciplined,  and  splendidly 
equipped  as  it  was  known  or  supposed  to  be,  the  first  diffi- 


THE   PENINSULAR   CAMPAIGN.  188 

President's  Order.  Letter  to  McClellan. 

culty  was  to  fix  upon  a  plan.  For  the  purpose  of  leading 
the  attention  of  its  General  to  something  like  a  definite  de- 
cision however,  the  order  of  January  2tth  was  succeeded  by 
the  following : 

"Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  January  31st,  1862. 
"  Ordered,  That  all  the  disposable  force  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  after  providing  safely  for  the  defence  of  Washington, 
be  formed  into  an  expedition  for  the  immediate  object  of 
seizing  and  occupying  a  point  upon  the  railroad  south-west- 
ward of  what  Is  known  as  Manassas  Junction  ;  all  details  to 
be  in  the  discretion  of  the  Commander-in-chief,  and  the  expe- 
dition to  move  before,  or  on  the  twenty-second  day  of  Feb- 
ruary next. 

"Abraham  Lincoln," 

General  McClellan  objecting  to  this  movement  and  earnestly 
urging  a  plan  of  advance  upon  Richmond  by  the  Lower  Rap- 
pahannock with  Urban  a  as  a  base,  the  President  addressed 
him  the  following  letter  : 

"Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  February  3d,  1862. 
"My  Dear  Sir: — You  and  I  have  distinct  and  different 
plans  for  a  movement  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  ;  yours  to 
be  done  by  the  Chesapeake,  up  the  Rappahannock  to  Urbana. 
and  across  land  to  the  terminus  of  the  railroad  on  the  York 
river ;  mine  to  move  directly  to  a  point  on  the  railroad  south- 
west of  Manassas. 

"If  you  will  give  satisfactory  answers  to  the  following 
questions,  I  shall  gladly  yield  my  plan  to  yours  : 

"  First.  Does  not  your  plan  involve  a  greatly  larger  expen 
diture  of  time  and  money  than  mine  ? 

"  Second,  Wherein  is  a  victory  more  certain  by  your  plan 
than  mine  ? 

"  Third.  Wherein  is  a  victory  more  valuable  by  your  plan 
than  mine  ? 

"  Fourth.  In  fact,  would  it  not  be  less  valuable  in  this ; 


184  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN". 

Organization  into  Corps.  President's  War  Ordei 

that  it  would  break  no  great  line  of  the  enemy's  communica- 
tions, while  mine  would  ? 

"  Fifth.  In  case  of  disaster,  would  not  a  retreat  be  more 
difiBcult  by  your  plan  than  mine  ? 

"Yours,  truly,  A.  Lincoln. 

"Major-General  McClellan." 

Which  plain,  practical  questions  were  never  directly  an- 
swered. 

This  army  being  without  any  organization  into  Army  Corps, 
the  President,  on  the  8th  of  March,  as  a  movement  was  about 
to  be  made  toward  Manassas,  issued  a  peremptory  order  to 
the  Commanding  General  to  attend  forthwith  to  such  organiza- 
tion, naming  the  Corps  and  their  Commanders,  according  to 
seniority  of  rank. 

On  the  same  day,  the  President,  who  had,  against  bis  own 
judgment,  yielded  the  plan  for  an  advance  upon  Richmond 
which  should  at  the  same  time  cover  Washington,  wise 
through  experience,  issued  the  following  : 

"Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  March  8th,  1862. 

"Ordered.  That  no  change  of  the  base  of  operations  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  shall  be  made  without  leaving  in 
and  about  Washington  such  a  force  as,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
General-in-chief  and  the  commanders  of  Army  Corps,  shall 
leave  said  city  entirely  secure. 

"  That  no  more  than  two  Army  Corps  (about  fifty  thousand 
troops)  of  said  Army  of  the  Potomac  shall  be  moved  en  route 
or  a  new  base  of  operations  until  the  navigation  of  the 
Potomac,  from  Washington  to  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  shall  be 
freed  from  the  enemy's  batteries,  and  other  obstructions,  or 
until  the  President  shall  hereafter  give  express  permission. 

"  That  any  movement  as  aforesaid,  en  route  for  a  new  base 
of  operations,  which  may  be  ordered  by  the  General-in-chief, 
and  which  may  be  intended  to  move  upon  Chesapeake  Bay, 
shall  begin  to  move  upon  the  bay  as  early  as  the  ISth  of 


THE  PENINSULA-R   CAMPAIGN-.  185 


Movement.  Peniusular  Campaign.  Results. 


March,  instant,  and  the  General-in-chief  shall  be  responsible 
that  it  moves  as  early  as  that  day. 

"Ordered,  That  the  Army  and  Navy  cooperate  in  an 
immediate  effort  to  capture  the  enemy's  batteries  upon  the 
Potomac  between  Washington  and  the  Chesapeake  Bay. 

"Abraham  Lincoln. 

"L.  Thojias,  Adjutant-General." 

Finally — after  delays  manifold,  correspondence  voluminous, 
discussions  heated,  and  patience  nearly  worn  threadbare — 
commenced  that  military  movement,  which  has  passed  into 
history  as  the  American  Peninsular  Campaign  ;  by  virtue  of 
which,  commencing  about  the  middle  of  March,  1862,  a  large 
body  of  finely  disciplined  troops — their  numbers  varying, 
according  to  various  accounts,  from  one  hundred  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  seventy,  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-one 
thousand  five  hundred  men — left  Alexandria  for  Richmond, 
via  Yorktown,  and  succeeded,  after  sanguinary  battles,  swamp 
sickness,  severe  exposures,  and  terrible  hardships,  in  retm-u- 
ing  (how  many  of  them  ?)  to  Alexandria  via  Harrison's 
Landing,  by  about  the  middle  of  August,  1862. 

That  campaign  was  the  most  disastrous  drawback  of  the 
war,  not  merely  in  the  loss  of  men,  nor  in  the  failure  to  reacn 
the  end  aimed  at,  but  mainly  in  its  enervating  effect  upon 
the  supporters  of  the  Government.  It  was  Bull  Run  over 
again,  only  immensely  magnified,  indefinitely  prolonged. 
Fortune  seemed  determined  never  to  favor  our  Eastern 
braves. 

Into  the' details  of  that  campaign  it  is  needless  to  enter 
here.  Every  schoolboy  knows  them  by  heart,  so  far  as  they 
are  spread  upon  the  record.  Equally  idle  is  it  to  attempt  a 
criticism  upon  the  campaign  in  a  military  point  of  view. 
That  has  been  already  done  to  a  nauseating  extent ;  yet  will, 
doubtless,  continue  to  be  done  while  the  reader  lives. 

No  details,  nor  military  criticism  therefore  here.  But  that 
President  Lincoln  may  fairly  be  presented  in  his  relations  to 


186  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Gen.  McClellan.  Unfortunate  Circumstances. 

this  campaign,  certain  observations  must  be  made.     And  this 
is  the  place  to  make  them. 

Conceding  to  General  McClellan  all  the  ability,  patriotism, 
and  bravery  which  have  been  claimed  for  him  by  his  warmest 
admirers,  there  still  remain  some  unfortunate  circumstances 
connected  with  him,  by  reason  of  which — even  though  he, 
personally,  were  responsible  for  no  single  one  of  them — not 
all  the  ability,  patriotism,  and  bravery  of  a  Napoleon,  Tell, 
and  Bayard  combined,  could  have  secured  in  his  person  what 
this  country  needed  for  the  rooting  out  of  the  great  rebellion. 

It  was  unfortunate  for  him  that,  at  the  very  outset — when 
so  little  was  known  of  him,  when  he  had  done  so  little — 
sycophantic  flatterers  should  have  exalted  him  at  once  into  a 
great  military  chieftain.  Peculiai'ly  unfortunate  was  this, 
considering  that  the  changeable  American  people  were  to 
pass  upon  him  and  his  actions — that  people,  in  their  relations 
to  their  leading  men,  with  their  "  Hosannas"  to-day  and  their 
•'  Crucify  him's"  to-morrow.  The  sequel  of  "  going  up  like  a 
rocket"  is  not  generally  supposed  to  be  particularly  agreeable. 

It  was  unfortunate  for  him  that  the  opinion  obtained,  in  the 
minds  of  many,  impartial  and  competent  to  judge,  that,  in  his 
case,  caution  had  passed  the  bounds  of  prudence  and  run 
mad.  There  are  emergencies  when  every  thing  must  be 
risked  that  nothing  be  lost. 

It  was  unfortunate  for  him  that  he  was  made  the  especial 
pet  of  those  individuals  who  were  most  clamorous  against  an 
Administration  which,  whatever  its  short  comings,  every 
candid  man  knew  was  earnestly  intent  upon  ending  the  war 
upon  such  a  basis  as  could  alone,  in  its  judgment,  secure 
permanent  peace.  If  a  subordinate  general  could  not  agree 
with  his  superiors,  or  content  himself  with  matters  purely 
military,  he  should  have  declined  to  remain  in  the  service. 

It  was  unfortunate  for  him  that  his  especial  friends  sought, 
in  prmt,  and  public  speech,  and  private  conversation,  to 
create  the  impression  that  the  President  did  not  desire  that 


THE    PENINSULAR   CAMPAIGN.  187 

Uufortuuate  Circumstances.  President's  Speech. 

he  should  succeed,  owing  to  a  fear  that  he  might  prove 
a  formidable  competitor  at  the  next  Presidential  election. 
Peculiarly  unfortunate,  when  one  remembers  that  this  Presi- 
dent had,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  put  at  the  head  of  three 
important  military  departments  three  of  the  most  decided  of 
his  political  opponents — Patterson,  Butler,  and  McClellan — 
that  no  man  ever  occupied  the  Presidential  chair,  unless  it  be 
its  first  occupant,  who  had  less  selfishness  and  more  disin- 
terestedness in  his  composition  than  President  Lincoln. 

It  was  unfortunate  for  him  that  such  desperate  eff'orts 
were  made  by  his  supporters  to  fasten  the  responsibility  for 
admitted  failures  upon  other  parties.  This  began  at  Ball's 
Bluff,  as  has  already  been  noted.  The  Secretary  of  "War  was 
dragged  in,  as  well  as  the  President,  in  connection  with  the 
Peninsular  Campaign.  As  to  this  last,  nothing  more  to  the 
point  can  be  adduced  than  the  words  of  a  man,  whose  honesty 
and  truthfulness  were  known  wherever  he  was  known — 
Abraham  Lincoln — in  a  characteristic  speech  made  by  him 
at  a  Union  meeting  in  Washington,  August  6th,  1862,  when 
the  issue  of  the  campaign  was  certain  : 

"  Fellow-citizens  : — I  believe  there  is  no  precedent  for  my 
appearing  before  you  on  this  occasion  ;  but  it  is  also  true 
that  there  is  no  precedent  for  your  being  here  yourselves,  and 
I  offer,  in  justification  of  myself  and  of  you,  that,  upon  ex- 
amination, I  have  found  nothing  in  the  Constitution  against 
it.  I,  however,  have  an  impression  that  there  are  younger 
gentlemen  who  will  entertain  you  better,  and  better  address 
your  understanding  than  I  will  or  could,  and  therefore  I  pro- 
pose but  to  detain  you  a  moment  longer. 

"  I  am  very  little  inclined  on  any  occasion  to  say  any  thing 
unless  I  hope  to  produce  some  good  by  it.  The  only  thing  I 
think  of  just  now  not  likely  to  be  better  said  by  some  one  else 
is  a  matter  in  which  we  have  heard  some  other  persons 
blamed  for  what  I  did  myself.  There  has  been  a  very  wide- 
spread attempt  to  have  a  quarrel  between  General  McClellan 


188  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

The  Secretary  of  War.  Neither  Blameahle. 

and  the  Secretary  of  War.  Now,  I  occupy  a  position  that 
enables  me  to  observe,  that  at  least  these  two  gentlemen  are  not 
nearly  so  deep  in  the  quarrel  as  some  pretending  to  be  their 
friends.  General  McClellan's  attitude  is  such  that,  in  the 
very  selfishness  of  his  nature,  he  cannot  but  wish  to  be  suc- 
cessful, and  I  hope  he  will — and  the  Secretary  of  War  is  in 
precisely  the  same  situation.  If  the  military  commanders  in 
the  field  cannot  be  successful,  not  only  the  Secretary  of  War, 
but  myself,  for  the  time  being  the  master  of  them  both,  can 
not  be  but  failures.  I  know  that  General  McClellan  wishes 
to  be  successful,  and  I  know  he  does  not  wish  it  any  more 
than  the  Secretary  of  War  for  him,  and  both  of  them  together 
no  moi'e  than  I  wish  it.  Sometimes  we  have  a  dispute  about 
how  many  men  General  McClellan  has  had,  and  those  who 
would  disparage  him  say  that  he  has  had  a  very  large  num- 
ber, and  those  who  would  disparage  the  Secretary  of  War 
insist  that  General  McClellan  has  had  a  very  small  number. 
The  basis  for  this  is,  there  is  always  a  wide  difference,  and  on 
this  occasion  perhaps  a  wider  one,  between  the  graud  total 
on  McClellan's  rolls  and  the  men  actually  fit  for  duty ;  and 
those  who  would  disparage  him  talk  of  the  graad  total  on 
paper,  and  those  who  would  disparage  the  Secretary  of  War 
talk  of  those  at  present  fit  for  duty.  General  McClellan  has 
sometimes  asked  for  things  that  the  Secretary  of  War  did  not 
give  him.  General  McClellan  is  not  to  blame  for  asking 
what  he  wanted  and  needed,  and  the  Secretary  of  War  is 
not  to  blame  for  not  giving  when  he  had  none  to  give.  And 
I  say  here,  as  far  as  I  know,  the  Seci'etary  of  War  has  with- 
held no  one  thing  at  any  time  in  my  power  to  give  him. 
I  have  no  accusation  against  him.  I  believe  he  is  a  brave 
and  able  man,  and  I  stand  here,  as  justice  requires  me  to  do, 
to  take  upon  myself  what  has  been  charged  on  the  Secretary 
of  War,  as  withholding  from  him.  I  have  talked  longer 
than  1  expected  to,  and  now  I  avail  myself  of  my  privilege 
of  saying  no  more." 


THE    PENINSULAR    CAMPAIGN.  189 


After  the  Campaign.  Affairs  at  the  West. 


It  was  unfortunate  for  him  that  the  precedents  were  so 
numerous  in  American  history  for  making  a  successful  mili- 
tary man  President.  This  must  have  embarrassed  him  no 
little,  and  tempted  him  into  much  of  that  correspondence 
which  otherwise  he  would  have  avoided.  Had  it  not  been 
for  these  fatal  precedents,  he,  assuredly,  would  not  have 
leisurely  seated  himself  at  Harrison's  Landing-  to  write  to  the 
President  a  lengthy  homily  on  affairs  of  State  at  a  moment 
when  it  was  doubtful  whether  he  would  long  have  an  army 
of  which  he  could  be  General  in  command. 

Finally,  it  was  unfortunate  for  him  that  he  had  not,  when 
learning  to  command,  learned  also  to  obey.  This  would  have 
spared  himself  and  the  country  and  the  cause  several  entirely 
superfluous  inflictions. 

Whoever  would  form  a  correct  estimate  of  President  Lin- 
coln's connection  with  the  Peninsular  campaign  and  its 
commander,  must  bear  these  facts  in  mind.  Aside  from  all 
considerations  of  a  purely  military  nature,  they  are  indis- 
pensable in  reaching  an  unbiassed  decision. 

What  dogged  the  heels  of  this  unfortunate  campaign  must 
be  briefly  told.  Vigorous  orders  from  Pope,  "  headquartei'S 
in  the  saddle,"  turned  into  most  melancholy  bombast  by  his 
failure,  occasioned  either  by  want  of  brains  or  willful  lacii  of 
cooperation ;  a  rebel  invasion  of  Maryland  ;  the  battle  of 
South  Mountain  gained  under  McClellan ;  Antietam,  not  the 
victory  it  might  have  been,  for  which  a  ream  of  reasons  were 
given  ;  the  withdrawal  of  the  rebels  ;  Government  hard  at 
work  urging  McClellan  to  follow ;  supersedure  of  the  latter 
by  the  President,  who  survived  his  cabinet  in  clinging  to 
him;  appointment  of  Burnside,  much  against  his  wishes: 
another  defeat  at  Fredericksburg ;  and  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  in  winter-quarters  again. 

Such  is  the  summary  in  the  East  for  A.  D.  1862. 

In  the  West,  the  year  closed  with  the  opening  of  the  battle 
of  Murfreesboro,  and  Yicksburg  still  held  out  against  all  our 
attempts  to  take  it. 


190  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Tribune  Editorial.  President's  Reply, 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

FREEDOM    TO    MILLIONS. 

Tribune  Editorial — Letter  to  Mr.  Greeley — Announcement  of  the  Emancipation  Proclama- 
tion— Suspensiou  of  the  Habeas  Corpus  in  certain  cases — Order  for  Observance  of  the 
Sabbath — The  ilmancipation  Proclamation. 

An  editorial  article  having  appeared  in  the  New  York 
Tribune,  in  the  month  of  August,  1862,  in  the  form  of  a 
letter  addressed  to  the  President,  severely  criticising  his 
action  relative  to  the  question  of  slavery — a  letter  written  in 
ignorance  of  the  fact  that  a  definite  policy  had  already  been 
matured,  which  would  be  announced  at  a  suitable  moment — 
Mr.  Lincoln  responded  as  follows  : 

"Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  Aug.  22,  1862. 

Hon.  Horace  Greeley — Dear  Sir :  I  have  just  read  yours 
of  the  19th,  addressed  to  myself  through  the  Neiu  York 
Tribune.  If  there  be  in  it  any  statements  or  assumptions  of 
fact  which  I  may  know  to  be  erroneous,  I  do  not  now  and 
here  controvert  them.  If  there  be  in  it  any  inference  which 
I  may  believe  to  be  falsely  drawn,  I  do  not  now  and  here 
argue  against  them.  If  there  be  perceptible  in  it  an  impatient 
and  dictatorial  tone,  I  waive  it  in  deference  to  an  old  friend, 
whose  heart  I  have  always  supposed  to  be  right. 

"As  to  the  policy  I  '  seem  to  be  pursuing,'  as  you  say,  I 
have  not  meant  to  leave  any  one  in  doubt. 

"  I  would  save  the  Union.  I  would  save  it  the  shortest 
way  under  the  Constitution.  The  sooner  the  National 
authority  can  be  restored,  the  nearer  the  Union  will  be  '  the 
Union  as  it  was.'  If  there  be  those  who  would  not  save  the 
Union  unless  they  could  at  the  same  time  save  Slavery,  I  do 
not  agree  with  them.  If  there  be  those  who  would  not  save 
the  Union  unless  they  could  at  the  same  time  destroy  Slavery, 
I  do  not  agree  with  theai      My  paramount  object  in  this 


FREEDOM   TO    MILLIONS.  191 

The  Union  to  be  Saved.  Emancipation  Indicated. 


Struggle  is  to  save  the  Union,  and  is  not  either  to  save  or 

destroy  Slavery.     If  I  could  save  the  Union  without  freeing 

a7iy  slave,  I  would  do  it ;  and  if  I  could  do  it  by  freeing  all 

the  slaves,  I  would  do  it ;  and  if  I  could  do  it  by  freeing  seme 

and  leaving  others  alone,  I  would  also  do  that.     What  I  do 

about  Slavery  and  the  colored  race,  I  do  because  I  believe  it 

helps  to  save  this   Union ;    and  what  I   forbear,  I  forbear 

because  I  do  not  believe  it  would  help  to  save  the  Union.     I 

shall  do  less  whenever  I  shall  believe  what  I  am  doing  hurts 

the  cause,  and  I  shall  do  more  whenever  I  shall  believe  doing 

more  will  help  the  cause,     I  shall  try  to  correct  errors  when 

shown  to  be  errors ;  and  I  shall  adopt  new  views  so  fast  as 

they  shall  appear  to  be  true  views.     I  have  here  stated  my 

purpose  according  to  my  view  of  official  duty,  and  I  intend 

no  modification  of  my  oft-expressed  personal  wish  that  all 

men,  every  where,  could  be  free. 

"Yours,  A.  Lincoln." 

"What  that  policy  was,  every  manly  heart  learned  with  de- 
light when  the  following  Proclamation  appeared,  the  most 
important  state-paper  ever  penned  by  any  American  Presi- 
dent : 

"I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy 
thereof,  do  hereby  proclaim  and  declare,  that  hereafter,  as 
heretofore,  the  war  will  be  prosecuted  for  the  object  of  prac- 
tically restoring  the  constitutional  relation  between  the  United 
States  and  the  people  thereof,  in  those  States  in  which  that 
relation  is,  or  may  be,  suspended  or  disturbed ;  that  it  is  my 
purpose,  upon  the  next  meeting  of  Congress,  to  again  recom- 
mend the  adoption  of  a  practical  measure  tendering  pecuniary 
aid  to  the  free  acceptance  or  rejection  of  all  the  Slave  States, 
so-called,  the  people  whereof  may  not  then  be  in  rebellion 
against  the  United  States,  and  which  States  may  then  have 
voluntarily  adopted,  or  thereafter  may  voluntarily  adopt,  the 
immediate  or  gradual   abolishment  of  slavery  within  their 


192  LIFE   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Slaves  of  Rebels  to  be  Free.  Article  of  War. 

respective  limits,  and  that  the  effort  to  colonize  persons  of 
African  descent,  with  their  consent,  upon  the  continent  or 
elsewhere,  with  the  previously  obtained  consent  of  the  gov- 
ernment existing  there,  will  be  continued  ;  that  on  the  first 
day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-three,  all  persons  held  as  slaves  within 
any  State,  or  any  designated  part  of  a  State,  the  people 
whereof  shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States, 

SHALL  BE  THEN,  THENCEFORWARD  AND  FOREVER,  FREE,  and   the 

Executive  Government  of  the  United  States,  including  the 
militaiy  and  naval  authority  thereof,  will  recognize  and 
maintain  the  freedom  of  such  persons,  and  will  do  no  act  or 
acts  to  repress  such  persons,  or  any  of  them,  in  any  efforts 
they  may  make  for  their  actual  freedom  ;  that  the  Executive 
will,  on  the  first  day  of  January  aforesaid,  by  proclamation, 
designate  the  States,  and  parts  of  States,  if  any,  in  which  the 
people  thereof  respectively  shall  be  in  rebellion  against 
the  United  States  ;  and  the  fact  that  any  State,  or  the  people 
thereof,  shall  on  that  day  be  in  good  faith  represented  in  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  by  members  chosen  thereto, 
at  elections  wherein  a  majority  of  the  qualified  voters  of  such 
State  shall  have  participated,  shall,  in  the  absence  of  strong 
countervailing  testimony,  be  deemed  conclusive  evidence  that 
such  State  and  the  people  thereof  have  not  been  in  rebellion 
against  the  United  States. 

"  That  attention  is  hereby  called  to  an  act  of  Congress, 
entitled,  'An  act  to  make  an  additional  article  of  war,'  ap- 
proved March  13,  1862,  and  which  act  is  in  the  words  and 
figures  following : 

"  'Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  Congress  assembled,  That 
hereafter  the  following  shall  be  promulgated  as  an  additional 
Article  of  War  for  the  government  of  the  Army  of  the  United 
States,  and  shall  be  observed  and  obeyed  as  such. 

"  ^Article  — .    All   officers  or  persons  of  the  military  or 


FREEDOM   TO    MILLIONS.  198 

Articles  of  War  Confiscation  Act.  Fugitive  Slaves 

naval  service  of  the  United  States,  are  prohibited  from  em- 
ploying any  of  the  forces  under  their  respective  commands 
for  the  purpose  of  returning  fugitives  from  service  or  labor 
who  may  have  escaped  from  any  persons  to  whom  such  ser- 
vice or  labor  is  claimed  to  be  due  ;  and  any  officer  who  shall 
be  found  guilty  by  a  court-martial  of  violating  this  article, 
shall  be  dismissed  from  the  service. 

"  'Section  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  this  act  shall 
take  effect  from  and  after  its  passage.' 

"Also  to  the  ninth  and  tenth  sections  of  an  act  entitled, 
'An  act  to  suppress  insurrection,  to  punish  treason  and  re- 
bellion, to  seize  and  confiscate  property  of  rebels,  and  for 
other  purposes,'  approved  July  17,  1862,  and  which  sections 
are  in  the  words  and  figures  following  : 

"  'Section  9.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  slaves  of 
persons  who  shall  hereafter  be  engaged  in  rebellion  against 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  or  who  shall  in  any 
way  give  aid  or  comfort  thereto,  escaping  from  such  persons 
and  taking  refuge  within  the  lines  of  the  army ;  and  all 
slaves  captured  from  such  persons  or  deserted  by  them,  and 
coming  under  the  control  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  and  all  slaves  of  such  persons  found  on  (or  being 
within)  any  place  occupied  by  rebel  forces  and  afterwards 
occupied  by  the  forces  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  deemed 
captives  of  war,  and  shall  be  forever  free  of  their  servitude, 
and  not  again  held  as  slaves. 

"  Section  10.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  no  slave 
escaping  into  any  State,  Territory,  or  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia, from  any  of  the  States,  shall  be  delivered  up,  or  in 
any  way  impeded  or  hindered  of  his  liberty,  except  for  crime, 
or  some  offence  against  the  laws,  unless  the  person  claiming 
said  fugitive  shall  first  make  oath  that  the  person  to  whom 
the  labor  or  service  of  such  fugitive  is  alleged  to  be  due,  is 
his  lawful  owner,  and  has  not  been  in  arms  against  the  United 
States  in  the  present  rebellion,  nor  in  any  way  given  aid  and 
18 


194  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM    LIXCOLN. 

Compensation  to  Loyal  Owners.  Hindering  Enlistmeuts. 

comfort  thereto ;  and  no  person  engaged  in  the  military  or 
naval  service  of  the  United  States  shall,  under  any  pretence 
whatever,  assume  to  decide  on  the  validity  of  the  claim  of 
any  person  to  the  service  or  labor  of  any  other  person,  or 
surrender  up  any  such  person  to  the  claimaat,  on  pain  of 
being  dismissed  from  the  service. 

"And  I  do  hereby  enjoin  upon,  and  order  all  persons 
engaged  in  the  military  and  naval  service  of  the  United 
States  to  observe,  obey  and  enforce  within  their  respective 
spheres  of  service,  the  act  and  sections  above  recited. 

"  And  the  executive  will  in  due  time  recommend  that  all 
citizens  of  the  United  States  who  shall  have  remained  loyal 
thereto  throughout  the  rebellion,  shall  (upon  the  restoration 
of  the  constitutional  relation  between  the  United  States  and 
their  respective  States  and  people,  if  the  relation  shall  have 
been  suspended  or  disturbed)  be  compensated  for  all  losses  by 
acts  of  the  United  States,  including  the  loss  of  slaves. 

"  In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  twenty-second  day 
of  September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-two,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States  the  eighty-seventh. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"William  H.   Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

This  herald  of  freedom  to  millions  was,  of  course,  intensely 
disliked  by  those  who  omitted  no  opportunity  to  cavil  at  the 
Administration.  As  efforts  were  making — not  entirely  with- 
out success — to  embarrass  the  Government  in  securing  the 
necessary  reinforcements  for  the  army,  and  certain  lewd  fellows 
of  the  baser  sort  holding  themselves  in  readiness  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  bitter  prejudices  existing  in  the  minds  of  a 
portion  of  the  people  against  the  negroes  among  us, 
the  following  proclamation  was  issued  two  days  later,  that  no 


FREEDOM   TO    MILLIONS.  195 


Habeas  Corpus  Suspended.  Popular  Opinion. 

one  might  plead   ignorance    of  results,  if  such  treasonable 
practices  should  be  persisted  in  : 

"  Whereas,'  It  has  become  necessary  to  call  into  service,  not 
only  volunteers,  but  also  portions  of  the  militia  of  the  States  by 
draft,  in  order  to  suppress  the  insurrection  existing  in  the 
United  States,  and  disloyal  persons  are  not  adequately  re- 
strained by  the  ordinary  processes  of  law  from  hindering  this 
measure,  and  from  giving  aid  and  comfort  in  various  ways  to 
the  insurrection  : 

"  Now,  therefore,  be  it  ordered  : 

"First.  That  during  the  existing  insurrection,  and  as  a 
necessary  measure  for  suppressing  the  same,  all  rebels  and  in- 
surgents, their  aiders  and  abettors,  within  the  United  States, 
and  all  persons  discouraging  volunteer  enlistments,  resisting 
militia  drafts,  or  guilty  of  any  disloyal  practice  affording  aid 
and  comfort  to  the  rebels  against  the  authority  of  the  United 
States,  shall  be  subject  to  martial  law,  and  liable  to  trial  and 
punishment   by  courts-martial   or  military  commission. 

"  Tliird.  That  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  is  suspended  in 
respect  to  all  persons  arrested,  or  who  are  now,  or  hereafter 
during  the  rebellion  shall  be  imprisoned  in  any  fort,  camp, 
arsenal,  military  prison,  or  other  place  of  confiuement,  by  any 
military  authority  or  by  the  sentence  of  any  court-martial  or 
military  commission. 

"  In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  afSxed. 

"  Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  twenty-fourth  day  of 
September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  sixty-two,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United 
States  the  eighty-seventh. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

It  would  be  paying  but  a  poor  compliment  to  the  sagacity 
which  prompted  this  proclamation,  if  one  were  not  oUiged  to 


196  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Observance  of  the  Sabbath.  Washington's  Order. 

say  that  it  was  exceedingly  distasteful  to  many.  Truth,  how- 
ever, compels  us  to  add  that  the  evils  aimed  at  ceased,  to 
a  very  great  extent,  shortly  after  its  appearance. 

The  following  order,  issued  November  16th,  1862,  is  but 
one  among  the  many  evidences  of  that  deep  and  earnest  rev- 
erence for  Christianity  which  formed  a  noticeable  feature, 
not  only  in  most  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  official  papers,  but  also  in 
the  character  of  the  man  : 

"The  President,  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Army  and 
Navy,  desires  and  enjoins  the  orderly  observance  of  the  Sab- 
bath, by  the  officers  and  men  in  the  military  and  naval  service. 
The  importance,  for  man  and  beast,  of  the  prescribed  weekly 
rest,  the  sacred  rights  of  Christian  soldiers  and  sailors,  a  be- 
coming deference  to  the  best  sentiment  of  a  Christian  people, 
and  a  due  regard  for  the  Divine  will,  demand  that  Sunday 
labor  in  the  army  and  navy  be  reduced  to  the  measure  of  sti'ict 
necessity. 

"  The  discipline  and  character  of  the  National  forces  should 
not  suffer,  nor  the  cause  they  defend  be  imperiled,  by  the  pro- 
fanation of  the  day  or  name  of  the  Most  High.  '  At  this  time 
of  public  distress,'  adopting  the  words  of  Washington  in 
IT 7 6,  '  men  may  find  enough  to  do  in  the  service  of  God  and 
their  country,  without  abandoning  themselves  to  vice  and  im- 
morality.' The  first  general  order  issued  by  the  Father  of 
his  Country,  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  indicates 
the  spirit  in  which  our  institutions  were  founded  and  should 
ever  be  defended  :  '  The  General  hopes  and  trusts  that  every 
officer  and  man  will  endeavor  to  live  and  act  as  becomes  a 
Christian  soldier  defending  the  dearest  rights  and  liberties  of 
his  country.'  Abraham  Lincoln." 

On  the  1st  day  of  January,  1863,  appeared  that  proclama- 
tion which  was  to  supplement  that  of  September  22d,  1862, 
crowning  with  complete  fullness  that  great  work  and  giving 
it  health  and  being  : 


FREEDOM   TO   MILLIONS.  197 

Emancipation  Proclamation.  A  War  Measure. 

"  Whereas,  On  the  twenty-second  day  of  September,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
two,  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  containing,  among  other  things,  the  following, 
to  wit : 

"  That  on  the  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-three,  all  persons  held 
as  slaves  within  any  State,  or  any  designated  part  of  a  State, 
the  people  whereof  shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the 
United  States,  shall  be  thenceforward  and  forever  free,  and 
the  Executive  Government  of  the  United  States,  including: 
the  military  and  naval  authority  thereof,  will  recognize  and 
maintain  the  freedom  of  such  persons,  and  will  do  no  act  or 
acts  to  repress  such  persons,  or  any  of  them,  in  any  efforts 
they  may  make  for  their  actual  freedom. 

"  That  the  Executive  will,  on  the  first  day  of  January 
aforesaid,  by  proclamation,  designate  the  States  and  parts  of 
States,  if  any,  in  which  the  people  thereof  respectively  shall 
then  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  and  the  fact 
that  any  State,  or  the  people  thereof,  shall  on  that  day  be  in 
good  faith  represented  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
by  members  chosen  thereto  at  elections  wherein  a  majority  of 
the  qualified  voters  of  such  State  shall  have  participated,  shall, 
in  the  absence  of  strong  countervailing  testimony,  be  deemed 
conclusive  evidence  that  such  State  and  the  people  thereof 
are  not  then  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States. 

"  Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  in  me  vested  as  Com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States, 
in  time  of  actual  armed  rebellion  against  the  authority  and 
Government  of  the  United  States,  and  as  a  fit  and  necessary 
war  measure  for  repressing  said  rebellion,  do,  on  this  first 
day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-three,  and  in  accordance  with  my  purpose 
so  to  do,  publicly  proclaimed  for  the  full  period  of  one  hun- 


198  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

States  in  Rebellion.  Advice  to  the  Freed 

dred  days  from  the  day  of  the  fii'st  above-mentioned  order, 
designate,  as  the  States  and  parts  of  States  wherein  the 
people  thereof  respectively  ai"e  this  day  in  rebellion  against 
the  United  States,  the  following,  to  wit :  Arkansas,  Texas, 
Louisiana,  except  the  parishes  of  St.  Bernard,  Plaquemines, 
Jefferson,  St.  John,  St.  Charles,  St.  James,  Ascension,  As- 
sumption, Terre  Bonne,  Lafourche,  St.  Mary,  St.  Martin,  and 
Orleans,  including  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  Mississippi,  Ala- 
bama, Florida,  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  North  Carolina,  and 
Virginia,  except  the  forty-eight  counties  designated  as  West 
Virginia,  and  also  the  counties  of  Berkeley,  Accomac,  North- 
ampton, Elizabeth  City,  York,  Princess  Ann,  and  Norfolk, 
Including  the  cities  of  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth,  and  which 
excepted  parts  are,  for  the  present,  left  precisely  as  if  this 
proclamation  were  not  issued. 

"And  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  for  the  purpose  aforesaid, 
I  do  order  and  declare  that  all  persons  held  as  slaves  within 
said  designated  States  and  parts  of  States  are,  and  hencefor- 
ward shall  be  free  ;  and  that  the  Executive  Government  of 
the  United  States,  including  the  military  and  naval  authori- 
ties thereof,  will  recognize  and  maintain  the  freedom  of  said 
persons. 

"And  I  hereby  enjoin  upon  the  people  so  declared  to  be 
free,  to  abstain  from  all  violence,  unless  in  necessary  self- 
defence,  and  I  recommend  to  them,  that  in  all  cases,  when 
allowed,  they  labor  faithfully  for  reasonable  wages. 

"And  I  further  declare  and  make  known  that  such  persons 
of  suitable  condition  will  be  received  into  the  armed  service 
of  the  United  States  to  garrison  forts,  positions,  stations,  and 
other  places,  and  to  man  vessels  of  all  sorts  in  said  service. 

"And  upon  this,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an  act  of  justice, 
warranted  by  the  Constitution,  upon  military  necessity,  I 
invoke  the  considerate  judgment  of  mankind  and  the  gracious 
favor  of  Almighty  God. 


LAST   SESSION"  OF  THIRTY-SEVENTH  CONGRESS.      199 

Situatiou  of  the  Country.  Attacks  upon  the  Admlmstration. 

"  In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  first  day  of  January, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
three,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  the 
eighty-seventh. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"W.  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 


4  •  »  •  > 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

LAST   SESSION  OP  THE   THIRTY- SEVENTH  CONGRESS. 
Situation  of  the  Country — Opposition  to  the  Administration — President's  Message. 

Dark  days  for  the  friends  of  freedom  in  this  country  were 
those  at  the  close  of  1862.  Prior  to  the  autumn  of  that  year 
the  elections  had  shown  a  popular  indorsement  of  the  acts  of 
the  Administration.  Then  came  a  change.  The  three  lead- 
ing States — New  York,  Ohio,  and  Pennsylvania — through 
manifestations  and  misrepresentations  which  it  is  unnecessary 
here  to  detail,  had  been  induced  to  give  majorities  against 
the  Government.  Not  the  least  singular  of  the  many  remark- 
able instances  of  inconsistency  which  our  political  annals 
afford,  was  furnished  in  the  State  first-named,  which  had 
actually  elected  a  "  Peace"  man  as  its  Governor,  on  the  plat- 
form of  "  a  more  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war." 

The  failure  of  the  Peninsular  Campaign  was  charged  upon 
the  President.  The  war,  it  was  asserted,  had  been  perverted 
from  its  original  purpose.  It  was  no  longer  waged  to  pre- 
serve the  Union,  but  to  free  the  slave ;  or,  in  the  more 
elegant  phraseology  of  the  day,  it  had  become  "  a  nigger 
war."  With  the  ignorant  and  unthinking  such  statements 
passed  as  truths. 


200  LIFE   OF   ABEAHAM   LINCOLN. 

The  Draft.  FlrmBesa  of  the  President. 

The  number  of  those  who,  never  having  invested  any  prin- 
ciple in  the  struggle,  had  become  tired  of  the  war,  had  largely 
increased.  The  expectation  of  a  draft — or  a  "  conscription," 
as  it  better  suited  the  objects  of  the  disaffected  to  term  it — 
which  was  passed  at  the  next  session  of  Congress,  made  the 
lukewarm  love  of  many  to  wax  cold. 

Newspapers  and  stump-speakers  had  the  hardihood  to 
demand  peace  upon  any  terms.  It  was  even  claimed  that  an 
opposition  majority  had  been  secured  in  the  lower  House  of 
the  next  Congress.  Their  representatives  in  the  Congress  of 
1862  began  to  re-assume  those  airs  of  insolence  and  defiance 
which  they  had  previously  found  it  convenient  to  lay  aside 
for  the  time. 

Dark  days,  indeed,  when  the  Thirty-seventh  Congress 
assembled  for  its  last  session,  on  the  1st  of  December,  1862. 

Yet  there  was  one  who  never  faltered  in  purpose,  however 
discouraging  the  prospect ;  one,  who,  assured  that  he  was 
right,  was  determined  to  follow  the  right,  wherever  it  might 
lead  him.  And,  though  his  careworn  expression  and  anxious 
look  told  plainly  how  the  fearful  responsibilities  of  his  office 
weighed  upon  him,  he  had  ever  a  cheerful  word,  a  happy 
illustration,  a  kindly  smile,  or  a  look  of  sympathy  for  those 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 

The  essential  portions  of  his  Annual  Message  on  this  occa- 
sion are  given  below : 

"  Fellow-citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives : — Since  your  last  annual  assembling,  another 
year  of  health  and  bountiful  harvests  has  passed.  And, 
while  it  has  not  pleased  the  Almighty  to  bless  us  with  a 
return  of  peace,  we  can  but  press  on,  guided  by  the  best  light 
He  gives  us,  trusting  that,  in  His  own  good  time  and  wise 
way,  all  will  yet  be  well 

"  If  the  condition  of  our  relations  with  other  nations  is  less 
gratifying  than  it  has  usually  been  at  former  periods,  it  is  cer- 


LAST  SESSION"  OF  THIRTY-SEVENTH  CONGEESS.      201 

Annual  Message.  Suppression  of  the  Slave  Trade. 

tainly  more  satisfactory  than  a  nation  so  unhappily  distracted 
as  we  are,  might  reasonably  have  apprehended.  In  the  month 
of  June  last  there  were  some  grounds  to  expect  that  the  mari- 
time powers  which,  at  the  beginning  of  our  domestic  difficul- 
ties, so  unwisely  and  unnecessarily,  as  we  think,  recognized 
the  insurgents  as  a  belligerent,  would  soon  recede  from  that 
position,  which  has  proved  only  less  injurious  to  themselves 
than  to  our  own  country.  But  the  temporary  reverses  which 
afterward  befell  the  National  arms,  and  which  were  exagge- 
rated by  our  own  disloyal  citizens  abroad,  have  hitherto 
delayed  that  act  of  simple  justice. 

"  The  civil  war,  which  has  so  radically  changed,  for  the 
moment,  the  occupations  and  habits  of  the  American  people, 
has  necessarily  disturbed  the  social  condition,  and  affected 
very  deeply  the  prosperity  of  the  nations  with  which  we  have 
carried  on  a  commerce  that  has  been  steadily  increasing 
throughout  a  period  of  half  a  century.  It  has,  at  the  same 
time,  excited  political  ambitions  and  apprehensions  which 
have  produced  a  profound  agitation  throughout  the  civilized 
world.  In  this  unusual  agitation  we  have  forborne  from 
taking  part  in  any  controversy  between  foreign  States,  and 
between  parties  or  factions  in  such  States.  We  have  at- 
tempted no  propagandism,  and  acknowledged  no  revolution. 
But  we  have  left  to  every  nation  the  exclusive  conduct  and 
management  of  its  own  affairs.  Our  struggle  has  been,  of 
course,  contemplated  by  foreign  nations  with  reference  less 
to  its  own  merits,  than  to  its  supposed,  and  often  exaggerated, 
effects  and  consequences  resulting  to  those  nations  themselves. 
Nevertheless,  complaint  on  the  part  of  this  Government,  even 
if  it  were  just,  would  certainly  be  unwise. 

"  The  treaty  with  Great  Britain  for  the  suppression  of  the 
slave-trade,  has  been  put  into  operation,  with  a  good  prospect 
of  complete  success.  It  is  an  occasion  of  special  pleasure  to 
acknowledge  that  the  execution  of  it,  on  the  part  of  Her 
Majesty's  Government,  has  been  marked  with  a  jealous  respect 


202  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLjST. 

Message.  Colonization  Movements. 

for  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  and  the  rights  of  their 
moral  and  loyal  citizens 

"Applications  have  been  made  to  me  by  many  free  Ameri- 
cans of  African  descent  to  favor  their  emigration,  with  a  view 
to  such  colonization,  as  was  contemplated  in  recent  acts  of 
Congress.  Other  parties,  at  home  and  abroad — some  from 
interested  motives,  others  upon  patriotic  considerations,  and 
still  others  influenced  by  philanthropic  sentiments — have  sug- 
gested similar  measures ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  several 
of  the  Spanish-American  republics  have  protested  against 
the  sending  of  such  colonies  to  their  respective  territories. 
Under  these  circumstances  I  have  declined  to  move  any  such 
colony  to  any  State,  without  first  obtaining  the  consent  of  its 
Government,  with  an  agreement  on  its  part  to  receive  and 
protect  such  emigrants  in  all  the  rights  of  freemen ;  and  I 
have,  at  the  same  time,  offered  to  the  several  States  situated 
within  the  tropics,  or  having  colonies  there,  to  negotiate  with 
them,  subject  to  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  to  favor 
the  voluntary  emigration  of  persons  of  that  class  to  their 
respective  territories,  upon  conditions  which  shall  be  equal, 
just,  and  humane.  Liberia  and  Hayti  are,  as  yet,  the  only 
countries  to  which  colonists  of  African  descent  from  here, 
could  go  with  certainty  of  being  received  and  adopted  as 
citizens ;  and  I  regret  to  say  such  persons,  contemplating 
colonization,  do  not  seem  so  willing  to  migrate  to  those 
countries,  as  to  some  others,  nor  so  willing  as  I  think  their 
interest  demands.  I  believe,  however,  opinion  among  them 
in  this  respect  is  improving ;  and  that,  ere  long,  there  will 
be  an  augmented  and  considerable  migration  to  both  these 
countries,  from  the  United  States 

"  I  have  favored  the  project  for  connecting  the  United 
States  with  Europe  by  an  Atlantic  telegraph,  and  a  similar 
project  to  extend  the  telegraph  from  San  Francisco,  to  con- 
nect by  a  Pacific  telegraph  with  the  line  which  is  being 
extended  across  the  Russian  Empire. 


LAST  SESSION  OF  THIETY-SEVEXTH  COXGRESS.       203 
Message.  Territories.  Fiiiauces. 

"  The  Territories  of  the  United  States,  with  unimportant 
exceptions,  have  remained  undisturbed  by  the  civil  war ; 
and  they  are  exhibiting  such  evidence  of  prosperity  as  justi- 
fies an  expectation  that  some  of  them  will  soon  be  in  a 
condition  to  be  organized  as  States,  and  be  constitutionally 
admitted  into  the  Federal  Union. 

"The  immense  mineralresourcesof  some  of  those  territories 
ought  to  be  developed  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Every  step 
in  that  direction  would  have  a  tendency  to  improve  the 
revenues  of  the  Government,  and  diminish  the  burdens  of  the 
people.  It  is  worthy  of  your  serious  consideration  whether 
some  extraordinary  measures  to  promote  that  end  can  not  be 
adopted.  The  means  which  suggests  itself  as  most  likely  to 
be  effective,  is  a  scientific  exploration  of  the  mineral  regions 
in  those  Territories,  with  a  view  to  the  publication  of  its 
results  at  home  and  in  foreign  countries — results  whict  can 
not  fail  to  be  auspicious. 

"The  condition  of  the  finances  will  claim  your  most 
diligent  consideration.  The  vast  expenditures  incident  to 
the  military  and  naval  operations  required  for  the  suppressioQ 
of  the  rebellion,  have  hitherto  been  met  with  a  promptitude 
and  certainty  unusual  in  similar  circumstances ;  and  the  public 
credit  has  been  fully  maintained.  The  continuance  of  the 
war,  however,  and  the  increased  disbursements  made  neces- 
sary by  the  augmented  forces  now  in  the  field,  demand  your 
best  reflections  as  to  the  best  modes  of  providing  the  neces- 
sary revenue,  without  injury  to  business,  and  with  the  least 
possible  burdens  upon  labor. 

"  The  suspension  of  specie  payments  by  the  banks,  soon 
after  the  commencement  of  your  last  session,  made  large 
issues  of  United  States  notes  unavoidable.  In  no  other  way 
could  the  payment  of  the  troops,  and  the  satisfaction  of  other 
just  demands,  be  so  economically  or  so  well  provided  for. 
The  judicious  legislation  of  Congress,  securing  the  receiva- 
bility   of    these   notes   for   loans   and   internal   duties,    and 


204  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Message.  Specie  Payments.  Nationixl  Banks. 

making  them  a  legal  tender  for  other  debts,  has  made  them 
a  universal  currency ;  and  has  satisfied,  partially  at  least, 
and  for  the  time,  the  long  felt  want  of  an  uniform  circulating 
medium,  saving  thereby  to  the  people  immense  sums  in  dis- 
counts and  exchanges. 

"  A  return  to  specie  payments,  hovt^ever,  at  the  earliest 
period  compatible  with  due  regard  to  all  interests  concerned, 
should  ever  be  kept  in  view.  Fluctuations  in  the  value  of 
currency  are  always  injurious,  and  to  reduce  these  fluctuations 
to  the  lowest  possible  point,  will  always  be  a  leading  purpose 
in  wise  legislation.  Convertibility,  prompt  and  certain  con- 
vertibility into  coin,  is  generally  acknowledged  to  be  the  best 
and  the  surest  safeguard  against  them  ;  and  it  is  extremely 
doubtful  whether  a  circulation  of  United  States  notes,  pay- 
able in  coin,  and  sufficiently  large  for  the  wants  of  the  people, 
can  be  permanently,  usefully  and  safely  maintained. 

"  Is  there,  then,  any  other  mode  in  which  the  necessary 
provision  for  the  public  wants  can  be  made,  and  the  great 
advantages  of  a  safe  and  uniform  currency  secured? 

"  I  know  of  none  which  promises  so  certain  results,  and  is, 
at  the  same  time,  so  unobjectionable,  as  the  organization  of 
banking  associations,  under  a  general  Act  of  Congress,  well 
guarded  in  its  provisions.  To  such  associations  the  Govern- 
ment might  furnish  circulating  notes,  on  the  security  of  the 
United  States  bonds  deposited  in  the  treasury.  These  notes, 
prepared  under  the  supervision  of  proper  officers,  being 
uniform  in  appearance  and  security,  and  convertible  always 
into  coin,  would  at  once  protect  labor  against  the  evils  of  a 
vicious  currency,  and  facilitate  commerce  by  cheap  and  safe 
exchanges. 

"A  moderate  reservation  from  the  interest  on  the  bonds 
would  compensate  the  United  States  for  the  preparation  and 
distribution  of  the  notes,  and  a  general  supervision  of  the 
system,  and  would  lighten  the  burden  of  that  part  of  the 
public  debt  employed  as  securities.     The  public  credit,  more- 


LAST   SESSION"   OF   THIRTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS.     205 
Message.  Receipts.  Expenditures. 

over,  would  be  greatly  improved,  and  the  negotiation  of  new 
loans  greatly  facilitated  by  the  steady  market  demand  for 
Government  bonds  which  the  adoption  of  the  proposed  system 
would  create. 

"  It  is  ail  additional  recommendation  of  the  measure  of 
considerable  weight,  in  my  judgment,  that  it  would  reconcile 
as  far  as  possible,  all  existing  interests,  by  the  opportunity 
offered  to  existing  institutions  to  reorganize  under  the  act, 
substituting  only  the  secured  uniform  national  circulation  for 
the  local  and  various  cii'culation,  secured  and  unsecured,  now 
issued  by  them. 

"  The  receipts  into  the  treasury,  from  all  sources,  including 
loans,  and  balance  from  the  preceding  year,  for  the  fiscal  year 
ending  on  the  30th  June,  1802,  were  $583, 885, 247  06,  of 
which  sum  $49,056,397  62  were  derived  from  customs ; 
$1,795,331  73  from  the  direct  tax;  from  public  lands, 
$152,203  77 ;  from  miscellaneous  sources,  $931,787  64 ; 
from  loans  in  all  forms,  $529,692,400  50.  The  remainder, 
$2,257,065  80,  was  the  balance  from  last  year. 

"  The  disbursements  during  the  same  period  were  for  Con- 
gressional, Executive,  and  Judicial  purposes,  $5,939,009  29  ; 
for  foreign  intercourse,  $1,339,710  35 ;  for  miscellaneous 
expenses,  including  the  mints,  loans,  post  office  deficiencies, 
collection  of  revenue,  and  other  like  charges,  $14,129,771  50  ; 
for  expenses  under  the  Interior  Department,  $3,102,985  52  ; 
under  the  War  Department,  $394,368,407  36;  under  the 
Navy  Department,  $42,074,509  69;  for  interest  on  public 
debt,  $13,190,324  45  ;  and  for  payment  of  public  debt,  in 
eluding  reimbursement  of  temporary  loan,  and  redemptions 
$96,096,  922  09;  making  an  aggregate  of  $570,841,700  25, 
and  leaving  a  balance  in  the  treasury  on  the  first  day  of  July, 
1862,  of  $13,043,546  81. 

"It  should  be  observed  that  the  sum  of  $96,096,922  09, 
expended  for  reimbursements  and  redemption  of  public  debt, 
being   included   also  in   the  loans   made,   may  be  properly 


206  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Message.  Compensated  Emancipation.  Inaugural. 

deducted,  both  from  receipts  and  expenditures,  leaving  the 
actual  receipts  for  the  year,  $481,788,324  9t ;  and  the  expen- 
ditures, $474,744,778  16 

"  On  the  22d  day  of  September  last  a  proclamation  was 
issued  by  the  Executive,  a  copy  of  which  is  herewith  sub- 
mitted. 

"  In  accordance  with  the  purpose  expressed  in  the  second 
paragraph  of  that  paper,  I  now  respectfully  call  your  atten- 
tion to  what  may  be  called  '  compensated  emancipation.' 

"A  nation  may  be  said  to  consist  of  its  territory,  its  people 
and  its  laws.  The  territory  is  the  only  part  which  is  of 
certain  durability.  '  One  generation  passeth  away  and  another 
generation  cometh,  but  the  earth  abideth  forever.'  It  is  of 
the  first  importance  to  duly  consider,  and  estimate,  this  ever- 
enduring  part.  That  portion  of  the  earth's  surface  which  is 
owned  and  inhabited  by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  is 
well  adapted  to  be  the  home  of  one  national  family ;  and  it  is 
not  well  adapted  for  two  or  more.  Its  vast  extent,  and  its 
variety  of  climate  and  productions,  are  of  advantage,  in  this 
age,  for  one  people,  whatever  they  might  have  been  in  former 
ages.  Steam,  telegraphs  and  intelligence  have  brought  these 
to  be  an  advantageous  combination  for  one  united  people. 

"  In  the  inaugural  address  I  briefly  pointed  out  the  total 
inadequacy  of  disunion,  as  a  remedy  for  the  differences  be- 
tween the  people  of  the  two  sections.  I  did  so  in  language 
which  I  can  not  improve,  and  which,  therefore,  I  beg  to 
repeat : 

'"One  section  of  our  country  believes  Slavery  is  right,  and 
ought  to  be  extended,  while  the  other  believes  it  is  wrong, 
and  ought  not  to  be  extended.  This  is  the  only  substantial 
dispute.  The  fugitive  slave  clause  of  the  Constitution,  and 
the  law  for  the  suppression  of  the  foreign  slave-trade,  are  each 
as  well  enforced,  perhaps,  as  any  law  can  ever  be  in  a  com- 
munity where  the  moral  sense  of  the  people  imperfectly 
supports   the    law   itself.     The    great    body    of    the   people 


LAST   SESSION  OF  THIRTY-SEVENTH   CONGRESS.     207 
Message.  Extracts  from  Inaugural 

abide  by  the  dry  legal  obligation  in  both  cases,  and  a 
few  break  over  in  each.  This,  I  think,  can  not  be 
perfectly  cured  ;  and  it  would  be  worse  in  both  cases  after 
the  separation  of  the  sections,  than  before.  The  foreign 
slave-trade,  now  imperfectly  suppressed,  would  be  ultimately 
revived  without  restriction  in  one  section  ;  while  fugitive 
slaves,  now  only  partially  surrendered,  would  not  be  surren- 
dered at  all  by  the  other. 

"  '  Physically  speaking,  we  can  not  separate.  We  can  not 
remove  our  respective  sections  from  each  other,  nor  build  an 
impassable  wall  between  them.  A  husband  and  wife  may  be 
divorced,  and  go  out  of  the  presence,  and  beyond  the  reach 
of  each  other  ;  but  the  different  parts  of  our  country  can  not 
do  this.  They  cannot  but  remain  face  to  face  ;  and  inter- 
course, either  amicable  or  hostile,  must  continue  between 
them.  Is  it  possible,  then,  to  make  that  intercourse  more 
advantageous,  or  more  satisfactory,  after  separation  than 
before'^  Can  aliens  make  treaties  easier  than  friends  can 
make  laws  ?  Can  treaties  be  more  faithfully  enforced  between 
aliens,  than  laws  can  among  friends  ?  Suppose  you  go  to 
war,  you  can  not  fight  always  ;  and  when,  after  much  loss  on 
both  sides,  and  no  gain  on  either,  you  cease  fighting,  the 
identical  old  qu3ftions,  as  to  terms  of  intercourse,  are  again 
upon  you. 

'"There  is  no  line,  straight  or  crooked,  suitable  for  a 
National  boundary,  upon  which  to  divide.  Trace  through, 
from  east  to  west,  upon  the  line  between  the  free  and  slave 
country,  and  we  shall  find  a  little  more  than  one-third  of  its 
length  are  rivers,  easy  to  be  crossed,  and  populated,  or  soon 
to  be  populated,  thickly,  up()n  both  sides  ;  while  nearly  all  its 
remaining  length  are  merely  surveyors'  lines,  over  which 
people  may  walk  back  and  forth  without  any  consciousness 
of  their  presence.  No  part  of  this  line  can  be  made  any  more 
difficult  to  pass,  by  writing  it  down  on  paper,  or  parchment, 
as  a  national  boundary.     The  fact  of  separation,  if  it  comes. 


208  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LIXCOLlSr, 

Message.  The  great  Interior  Region. 

gives  up,  on  the  part  of  the  seceding,  the  fugitive  slave  clause, 
along  with  all  other  constitutional  obligations  upon  the  section 
seceded  from,  while  I  should  expect  no  treaty  stipulation 
would  ever  be  made  to  take  its  place. 

"  But  there  is  another  difSculty.     The  great  interior  region, 
bounded  east  by  the  Alleghanies,  north  by  the  British  Do- 
minions, west  by  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  south  by  the 
line  along  which  the  culture  of  corn  and  cotton  meets,  and 
which  includes  part  of  Virginia,  part  of  Tennessee,  all  of 
Kentucky,    Ohio,    Indiana,    Michigan,    Wisconsin,    Illinois, 
Missouri,  Kansas,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  and  The  territories  of 
Dakota,  Nebraska,  and  part  of  Colorado,  already  has  above 
ten  millions  of  people,  and  will  have  fifty  million  within  fifty 
years,  if  not  prevented  by  any  political  folly  or  mistake.     It 
contains  more  than  one-third  of  the  country  owned  by  the 
United  States — certainly  more  than  one  million  of   square 
miles.     Once  half  as  populous  as  Massachusetts  already  is,  it 
would  have  more  than  seventy-five  millions  of  people.     A 
glance  at  the  map  shows  that,  territorially  speaking,  it  is  the 
great  body  of  the  Republic.     The  other  parts  are  but  margi- 
nal borders  to  it ;  the  magnificent  region  sloping  west  from 
the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific,  being  the  deepest,  and 
also  the  richest,  in  undeveloped  resources.     In  the  production 
of  provisions,   grains,   grasses,  and  all  which  proceed  from 
them,  this  great  interior  region  is  naturally  one  of  the  most 
important  in  the  world.     Ascertain  from  the  statistics  the 
small  proportion  of  the  region  which  has,  as  yet,  been  brought 
into  cultivation,  and  also  the  large  and  rapidly  increasing 
amount  of  its  products,  and  we  shall  be  overwhelmed  with 
the   magnitude    of  the  prospect   presented.     And  yet  this 
I'egion  has  no  sea-coast,  touches  no  ocean  any  where.     As 
part  of  one  nation,  its  people  now  find,  and  may  forever  find, 
their  way  to  Europe  by  New  York,  to   South  America  and 
Africa  by  New  Orleans,  and  to  Asia  by  San  Francisco.     But 
separate  our  common  country  into  two  nations,  as  designed 


LAST   SESSION    OF   THIRTY-SEVENTK   COXGRESS.    209 
Message.  Dividing  Line  Impossible. 

by  the  present  rebellion,  and  every  man  of  this  great  interior 
region  is  thereby  cut  off  from  some  one  or  more  of  these 
outlets,  not,  perhaps,  by  a  physical  barrier,  but  by  embarrass- 
ing and  onerous  trade  regulations. 

"And  this  is  true,  wherever  a  dividing  or  boundary  line 
may  be  fixed.  Place  it  between  the  now  free  and  slave 
country,  or  place  it  south  of  Kentucky,  or  north  of  Ohio,  and 
still  the  truth  remains,  that  none  south  of  it  can  trade  to  any 
port  or  place  north  of  it,  and  none  north  of  it  can  trade  to  any 
port  or  place  south  of  it,  except  upon  terms  dictated  by  a 
government  foreign  to  them.  These  outlets,  east,  west,  and 
south,  are  indispensable  to  the  well-being  of  the  people  in- 
habiting, and  to  inhabit,  this  vast  interior  region.  Wliich  of 
the  three  may  be  the  best,  is  no  proper  question.  All  are 
better  than  either ;  and  all,  of  right,  belong  to  that  people,  and 
to  their  successors  forever.  True  to  themselves,  they  will  not 
ask  lohere  a  line  of  separation  shall  be,  but  will  vow,  rather, 
that  there  shall  be  no  such  line.  Nor  are  the  mars-inal  regions 
less  interested  in  these  communications  to,  and  through 
them,  to  the  great  outside  world.  They,  too,  and  each  of 
them,  must  have  access  to  this  Egypt  of  the  West,  without 
paying  toll  at  the  crossing  of  any  National  boundary. 

"  Our  National  strife  springs  not  from  our  permanent  part ; 
not  from  the  land  we  inhabit ;  not  from  our  National  home- 
stead. There  is  no  possible  severing  of  this,  but  would  mul- 
tiply, and  not  mitigate,  evils  among  us.  In  all  its  adaptations 
and  aptitudes,  it  demands  union,  and  abhors  separation.  In 
fact,  it  would,  ere  long,  force  reunion,  however  much  of  blood 
and  treasure  the  separation  might  have  cost. 

"  Our  strife  pertains  to  ourselves — to  the  passing  genera- 
tions of  men;  and  it  can,  without  convulsion,  be  hushed  for- 
ever with  the  passing  of  one  generation. 

"  In  this  view,  I  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  fOi'lowing 
resolution  and  articles  amendatory  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  : 
14 


210  LIFE   OF  ABEAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Message.  Constitutional  Amendments  Recommended. 

"Besolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  (two- 
thirds  of  both  Houses  concurring,)  That  the  following  articles 
be  proposed  to  the  Legislatures  (or  conventions)  of  the  seve- 
ral States  as  amendments  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  all  or  any  of  which  articles,  when  ratified  by  three- 
fourths  of  the  said  Legislatures  (or  conventions),  to  be  valid 
as  part  or  parts  of  the  said  Constitution,  viz.  : 

"Article  — .  Every  State,  wherein  Slavery  now  exists, 
which  shall  abolish  the  same  therein,  at  any  time,  or  times, 
before  the  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  and  nine  hundred,  shall  receive  compensation  from 
the  United  States  as  follows,  to  wit : 

"  The  President  of  the  United  States  shall  deliver,  to  every 
such  States,  bonds  of  the  United  States,  bearing  interest  at 

the  rate  of per  cent,  per  annum,  to  an  amount  equal  to 

the  aggregate  sum  of  for  each  slave  shown  to 

have  been  therein,  by  the  eighth  census  of  the  United  States, 
said  bonds  to  be  delivered  to  such  State  by  installments,  or  in 
one  parcel,  at  the  completion  of  the  abolishment,  accordingly 
as  the  same  shall  have  been  gradual,  or  at  one  time,  within 
such  State  ;  and  interest  shall  begin  to  run  upon  any  such 
bond,  only  from  the  proper  time  of  its  delivery  as  aforesaid. 
Any  State,  having  received  bonds  as  aforesaid,  and  afterward 
re-introducing  or  tolerating  slavery  therein,  shall  refund  to 
the  United  States  the  bonds  so  received,  or  the  value  thereof, 
and  all  interest  paid  thereon. 

"Ai'ticle  — .  All  slaves  who  shall  have  enjoyed  actual 
freedom  by  the  chances  of  the  war,  at  any  time  before  the 
end  of  the  rebellion,  shall  be  forever  free  ;  but  all  owners  of 
.such,  who  shall  not  have  been  disloyal,  shall  be  compensated 
for  them,  at  the  same  rates  as  is  provided  for  States  adopting 
abolishment  of  slavery,  but  in  such  way,  that  no  slave  shall 
be  twice  accounted  for. 

^'Article  — .     Congress  may  appropriate  money,  and  other- 


LAST  SESSION  OF   THIRTY-SEVENTH   CONGRESS.      211 


Message.  Slavery  Question.  Points  of  the  Amendmente. 

wise  provide  for  colonizing  free  colored  persons,  with  their 
own  consent,  at  any  place  or  places  without  the  Fnited 
States. 

"  I  beg  indulgence  to  discuss  these  proposed  articles  at  some 
length.  Without  slavery,  the  rebellion  could  never  have  ex- 
isted ;  without  slavery,  it  could  not  continue. 

"Among  the  friends  of  the  Union,  there  is  great  diversity 
of  sentiment,  and  of  policy,  in  regard  to  slavery,  and  the 
African  race  among  us.  Some  would  perpetuate  slavery ; 
some  would  abolish  it  suddenly,  and  without  compensation; 
some  would  abolish  it  gradually,  and  with  compensation; 
some  would  remove  the  freed  people  from  us,  and  some 
would  retain  them  with  us  ;  and  there  are  yet  other  minor  diver- 
sities. Because  of  these  diversities,  we  waste  much  strength 
in  struggles  among  ourselves.  By  mutual  concession  we 
should  harmonize,  and  act  together.  This  would  be  com- 
promise ;  but  it  would  be  compromise  among  the  friends,  and 
not  with  the  enemies  of  the  Union.  These  articles  are  in- 
tended to  embody  a  plan  of  such  mutual  concessions.  If  the 
plan  shall  be  adopted,  it  is  assumed  that  emancipation  will 
follow,  at  least  in  several  of  the  States. 

"As  to  the  first  article,  the  main  points  are  :  first,  the 
emancipation  ;  secondly,  the  length  of  time  for  consummating 
it — thirty-seven  years  ;  and  thirdly,  the  compensation. 

"  The  emancipation  will  be  unsatisfactory  to  the  advocates 
of  perpetual  slavery  ;  but  the  length  of  time  should  greatly 
mitigate  their  dissatisfaction.  The  time  spares  both  races 
from  the  evils  of  sudden  derangement — ^in  fact,  from  the 
necessity  of  any  derangement — while  most  of  those  whose 
habitual  course  of  thought  will  be  disturbed  by  the  measure, 
will  have  passed  away  before  its  consummation.  They  will 
never  see  it.  Another  class  will  hail  the  prospect  of  emanci- 
pation, but  wfU  deprecate  the  length  of  time.  They  will  feel 
that  it  gives  too  little  to  the  now  living  slaves.  But  it  really 
gives  them  much.    It  saves  them  from  the  vagrant  destitution 


212  LIFE    OF   ABEAHAM   LINCOLN'. 

Message.  The  Measure  Just.  Economy. 

which  must  Largely  attend  immediate  emancipation  in  local- 
ities where  their  numbers  are  very  great ;  and  it  gives  the 
inspiring  assurance  that  their  posterity  shall  be  free  forever. 
The  plan  leaves  to  each  State,  choosing  to  act  under  it,  to 
abolish  slavery  now,  or  at  the  end  of  the  century,  or  at  any 
intermediate  time,  or  by  degrees  extending  over  the  whole 
or  any  part  of  the  period ;  and  it  obliges  no  two  States  to 
proceed  alike.  It  also  provides  for  compensation,  and,  gen- 
erally, the  mode  of  making  it.  This,  it  would  seem,  must 
further  mitigate  the  dissatisfaction  of  those  who  favor  perpet- 
ual slavery,  and  especially  of  those  who  are  to  receive  the 
compensation.  Doubtless,  some  of  those  who  are  to  pay,  and 
not  to  receive,  will  object.  Yet  the  measure  is  both  just  and 
economical.  In  a  certain  sense,  the  liberation  of  slaves  is  the 
destruction  of  property — property  acquired  by  descent,  or  by 
purchase,  the  same  as  any  other  property.  It  is  no  less  true 
for  having  been  often  said,  that  the  people  of  the  South  are 
not  more  responsible  for  the  original  introduction  of  this 
property,  than  are  the  people  of  the  North  ;  and  when  it  is 
remembered  how  unhesitatingly  we  all  use  cotton  and  sugar, 
and  share  the  profits  of  dealing  in  them,  it  may  not  be  quite 
safe  to  say,  that  the  South  has  been  more  responsible  than  the 
North  for  its  continuance.  If,  then,  for  a  common  object,  this 
property  is  to  be  sacrificed,  is  it  not  just  that  it  be  done  at  a 
common  charge  ? 

"And  if,  with  less  money,  or  money  more  easily  paid,  we 
can  preserve  the  benefits  of  the  Union  by  this  means,  than  we 
can  by  the  war  alone,  is  it  not  also  economical  to  do  it  ?  Let 
us  consider  it  then.  Let  us  ascertain  the  sum  we  have  ex- 
pended in  the  war  since  compensated  emancipation  was  pro- 
posed last  March,  and  consider  whether,  if  that  measure  had 
been  pi'omptly  accepted,  by  even  some  of  the  slave  States,  the 
same  sum  would  not  have  done  more  to  close  the  war,  than 
has  been  otherwise  done.  If  so,  the  measure  would  save 
money,  and,  in  that  view,  would  be  a  prudent  and  economical 


LAST  SESSION  OF  THIRTY-SEVENTH  CONGRESS.      213 
Message.  Increase  of  Population.  Europe. 

measure.  Certainly  it  is  not  so  easy  to  pay  something  as  it 
is  to  pay  nothing  ;  but  it  is  easier  to  pay  a  large  sum,  than  it 
is  to  pay  a  larger  one.  And  it  is  easier  to  pay  any  sum 
when  we  are  able,  than  it  is  to  pay  it  hefore  we  are  able. 
The  war  requires  large  sums,  and  requires  them  at  once. 
The  aggregate  sum  necessary  for  compensated  emancipation, 
of  course,  would  be  large.  But  it  would  require  no  ready 
cash  ;  nor  the  bonds  even,  any  faster  than  the  emancipation 
progresses.  This  might  not,  and  probably  would  not,  close 
before  the  end  of  the  thirty-seven  years.  At  that  time  we 
shall  probably  have  a  hundred  millions  of  people  to  share  the 
burden,  instead  of  thirty-one  millions,  as  now.  And  not  only 
so,  but  the  increase  of  our  population  may  be  expected  to 
continue  for  a  long  time  after  that  period,  as  rapidly  as  be- 
fore ;  because  our  territory  will  not  have  become  full.  I  do 
not  state  this  inconsiderately.  At  the  same  ratio  of  increase 
which  we  have  maintained,  on  an  average,  from  our  first 
National  census,  in  1190,  until  that  of  1800,  we  should,  in 
1900,  have  a  population  of  one  hundred  and  three  million,  two 
hundred  and  eight  thousand,  four  hundred  and  fifteen.  And 
why  may  we  not  continue  that  ratio  far  beyond  that  period  ? 
Our  abundant  room — our  broad  National  homestead — is  our 
ample  resource.  Were  our  territory  as  limited  as  are  the 
British  Isles,  very  certainly  our  population  could  not  expand 
as  stated.  Instead  of  receiving  the  foreign  born,  as  now,  we 
should  be  compelled  to  send  part  of  the  native  born  away. 
But  such  is  not  our  condition.  We  have  two  millions  nine 
hundred  and  sixty-three  thousand  square  miles.  Europe  has 
three  millions  and  eight  hundred  thousand,  with  a  population 
averaging  seventy-three  and  one  third  persons  to  the  square 
mile.  Why  may  not  our  country,  at  some  time,  average  as 
many  ?  Is  it  less  fertile  ?  Has  it  more  waste  surface,  by 
mountains,  rivers,  lakes,  deserts,  or  other  causes  ?  Is  it  in- 
ferior to  Europe  in  any  natural  advantage  ?  If,  then,  we  are, 
at  some  time,  to  be  as  populous  as  Europe,  how  soon  ?     As 


214 


LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Message. 


Decennial  Increase  of  Population. 


to  when  this  may  be,  we  can  judge  by  the  past  and  the  pres- 
ent ,  as  to  when  it  will  be,  if  ever,  depends  much  on  whether 
we  maintain  the  Union.  Several  of  our  States  are  already- 
above  the  average  of  Europe — seventy-three  and  a  third  to 
the  square  mile.  Massachusetts  has  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
seven  ;  Rhode  Island,  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  ;  Connec- 
ticut, ninety-nine  ;  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  each,  eighty. 
Also  two  other  great  States,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  are  not 
far  below,  the  former  having  sixty-three  and  the  latter  fifty- 
nine.  The  States  already  above  the  European  average,  ex- 
cept New  York,  have  increased  in  as  rapid  a  ratio,  since 
passing  that  point,  as  ever  before ;  while  no  one  of  them  is 
equal  to  some  other  parts  of  our  country,  in  natural  capacity 
for  sustaining  a  dense  population. 

"  Taking  the  nation  in  the  aggregate,  and  we  find  its  pop- 
ulation and  ratio  of  increase,  for  the  several  decennial  periods, 
to  be  as  follows  : 

I'TOO 3,929,821 

1800 5,305,93t 

1810 7,239,814 

1820 9,638,131 

1830 12,866,020 

1840 n,069,453 

1850 23,191,876 

1860 31,443,790 


35.02  per  cent,  ratio  of  increase. 

36.45 

33.13 

33.49 

32.67 
35.87 


35.58 

"  This  shows  an  average  decennial  increase  of  34.60  per 
cent,  in  population  through  the  seventy  years  from  our  first 
to  our  last  census  yet  taken.  It  is  seen  that  the  ratio  of  in- 
crease, at  one  of  these  seven  periods,  is  either  two  per  cent, 
below,  or  two  per  cent,  above,  the  average,  thus  showing  how 
inflexible,  and,  consequently,  how  reliable,  the  law  of  increase, 
in  our  case  is.  Assuming  that  it  will  continue,  gives  the  fol- 
lowing results  : 

1870 42,423,341 

1880 56,967,216 


LAST  SESSION   OF  THIRTY-SEVENTH   CONGRESS.      215 
Message.  Benefits  of  Compensated  Emancipation. 

1890 •76,6n,8'72 

1900 103,208,415 

1910 138,918,526 

1920 186,984,335 

1930 251,680,914 

"  These  figures  show  that  our  country  may  be  as  popu- 
lous as  Europe  now  is,  at  some  point  between  1920  and  1930 
— say  about  1925 — our  territory,  at  seventy-three  and  a  third 
persons  to  the  square  mile,  being  the  capacity  to  contain 
2n,186,000. 

"And  we  ivill  reach  this,  too,  if  we  do  not  ourselves  relin- 
quish the  chance,  by  the  folly  and  evil  of  disunion,  or  by  long 
and  exhausting  war,  springing  from  the  only  great  element 
of  National  discord  among  us.  While  it  can  not  be  foreseen 
exactly  how  much  one  huge  example  of  secession,  breeding 
lesser  ones  indefinitely,  would  retard  population,  civilization, 
and  prosperity,  no  one  can  doubt  that  the  extent  of  it  would 
be  very  great  and  injurious. 

"The  proposed  emancipation  would  shorten  the  war,  per- 
petuate peace,  insure  this  increase  of  population,  and  propor- 
tionately the  wealth  of  the  country.  With  these,  we  should 
pay  all  the  emancipation  would  cost,  together  with  our  other 
debt,  easier  than  we  should  pay  our  other  debt,  without  it. 
If  we  had  allowed  our  old  National  debt  to  run  at  six  per 
cent,  per  annum,  simple  interest,  from  the  end  of  our  Revolu- 
tionary struggle  until  to-day,  without  paying  any  thing  on 
either  principal  or  interest,  each  man  of  us  would  owe  less 
upon  that  debt  now,  than  each  man  owed  upon  it  then ;  and 
this  because  our  increase  of  men,  through  the  whole  period, 
has  been  greater  than  six  per  cent.  ;  has  run  faster  than  the 
interest  upon  the  debt.  Thus,  time  alone  relieves  a  debtor 
nation,  so  long  as  its  population  increases  faster  than  unpaid 
interest  accumulates  on  its  debt. 

"  This  fact  would  be  no  excuse  for  delaying  payment  of 
what  is  justly  due  ;  but  it  shows  the  great  importance  of  time 


216  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Message.  Colouization.  Displacing  White  Labor. 

in  this  connection — the  great  advantage  of  a  policy  by  which 
we  shall  not  have  to  pay  until  we  number  a  hundred  millions, 
what,  by  a  different  policy,  we  would  have  to  pay  now,  when 
we  number  but  thirty-one  millions.  In  a  word,  it  shows  that 
a  dollar  will  be  much  harder  to  pay  for  the  war,  than  will  be 
a  dollar  for  emancipation  on  the  proposed  plan.  And  then  the 
latter  will  cost  no  blood,  no  precious  life.  It  will  be  a  saving 
of  both, 

"As  to  the  second  article,  I  think  it  would  be  impracticable 
to  return  to  bondage  the  class  of  persons  therein  contem- 
plated. Some  of  them,  doubtless,  in  the  property  sense,  be- 
long to  loyal  owners ;  and  hence,  provision  is  made  in  this 
article  for  compensating  such. 

"  The  third  article  relates  to  the  future  of  the  freed  people. 
It  does  not  oblige,  but  merely  authorizes,  Congress  to  aid  in 
colonizing  such  as  may  consent.  This  ought  not  to  be  re- 
garded as  objectionable,  on  the  one  hand,  or  on  the  other,  in 
so  much  as  it  comes  to  nothing,  unless  by  the  mutual  consent 
of  the  people  to  be  deported,  and  the  American  voters, 
through  their  representatives  in  Congress. 

"  I  can  not  make  it  better  known  than  it  already  is,  that  I 
strongly  favor  colonization.  And  yet  I  wish  to  say  there  is 
an  objection  urged  against  free  colored  persons  remaining  in 
the  country,  which  is  largely  imaginary,  if  not  sometimes 
malicious. 

"  It  is  insisted  that  their  presence  would  injure,  and  dis- 
place white  labor  and  white  laborers.  If  there  ever  could  be 
a  proper  time  for  mere  catch  arguments,  that  time  surely  is 
not  now.  In  times  like  the  present,  men  should  utter  nothing 
for  which  they  would  not  willingly  be  responsible  through 
time  and  in  eternity.  Is  it  true,  then,  that  colored  people  can 
displace  any  more  white  labor  by  being  free,  than  by  remain 
ing  slaves  ?  If  they  stay  in  their  old  places,  they  jostle  no 
white  laborers  ;  if  they  leave  their  old  places,  they  leave  them 
0])en  to  white  laborers.     Logically,  there  is  neither  more  nor 


LAST  SESSION"   OF   THIRTY-SEVENTH   CONGRESS.      SI 7 
Message.  Law  of  Supply  and  Demand. 

less  of  it.  Emancipation,  even  without  deportation,  would, 
probably  enhance  the  wages  of  white  labor,  and,  very  surely, 
would  not  reduce  them.  Thus,  the  customary  amount  of 
labor  would  still  have  to  be  performed  ;  the  freed  people 
would  surely  not  do  more  than  their  old  proportion  of  it,  and 
very  probably,  for  a  time,  would  do  less,  leaving  an  increased 
part  to  white  laborers,  bringing  their  labor  into  greater  demand* 
and,  consequently,  enhancing  the  wages  of  it.  With  deporta- 
tion, even  to  a  limited  extent,  enhanced  wages  to  white 
labor  is  mathematically  certain.  Labor  is  like  any  other 
commodity  in  the  market — increase  the  demand  for  it,  and 
you  increase  the  price  of  it.  Reduce  the  supply  of  black 
labor,  by  colonizing  the  black  laborer  out  of  the  country,  and, 
by  precisely  so  much  you  increase  the  demand  for,  and  wages 
of,  white  labor. 

"But  it  is  dreaded  that  the  freed  people  will  swarm  forth, 
and  cover  the  whole  land.  Are  they  not  already  in  the  land  ? 
Will  liberation  make  them  any  more  numerous  ?  Equally 
distributed  among  the  whites  of  the  whole  country,  and  theve 
would  be  but  one  colored  to  seven  whites.  Could  the  one,  in 
any  way,  greatly  disturb  the  seven  ?  There  are  many  com- 
munities now,  having  more  than  one  free  colored  person  to 
seven  whites  ;  and  this  without  any  apparent  consciousness 
of  evil  from  it.  The  District  of  Columbia,  and  the  States  of 
Maryland  and  Delaware,  are  all  in  this  condition.  The  Dis- 
trict has  more  than  one  free  colored  to  six  whites  ;  and  yet, 
in  its  frequent  petitions  to  Congress,  I  believe  it  has  never 
presented  the  presence  of  free  colored  persons  as  one  of  its 
grievances.  But  why  should  emancipation  South  send  the 
freed  people  North  ?  People,  of  any  color,  seldom  run,  unless 
there  be  something  to  run  from.  Heretofore,  colored  people, 
to  some  extent,  have  fled  North  from  bondage ;  and  now, 
perhaps,  from  both  bondage  and  destitution.  But  if  gradual 
emancipation  and  deportation  be  adopted,  they  will  have 
neither  to  flee  from.    Their  old  masters  will  give  them  wages, 


218  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN". 


Messa"-e.  Eestoiing  National  Authority. 


at  lecast  until  new  laborers  can  be  procured ;  and  the  freed 
men,  in  turn,  will  gladly  give  their  labor  for  the  wages,  till 
new  homes  can  be  found  for  them,  in  congenial  climes,  and 
with  people  of  their  own  blood  and  race.  This  proposition 
can  be  trusted  on  the  mutual  interests  involved.  And,  in  any 
event,  can  not  the  North  decide  for  itself,  whether  to  receive 
them? 

"Again,  as  practice  proves  more  than  theory,  in  any  case, 
has  there  been  any  irruption  of  colored  people  northward, 
because  of  the  abolishment  of  slavery  in  this  District  last 
spring  ?  ^ 

"What  I  have  said  of  the  proportion  of  free  colored  per- 
sons to  the  whites,  in  the  District,  is  from  the  census  of 
1860,  having  no  reference  to  persons  called  contrabands,  nor 
to  those  made  free  by  the  Act  of  Congress  abolishing  slavery 
here. 

"  The  plan  consisting  of  these  articles  is  recommended,  not 
but  that  a  restoration  of  the  National  authority  would  be 
accepted  without  its  adoption. 

"  Nor  will  the  war,  nor  proceedings  under  the  proclamation 
of  September  22d,  1862,  be  stayed  because  of  the  recom- 
mendation of  this  plan.  Its  timely  adoption,  I  doubt  not, 
would  bring  restoration,  and  thereby  stay  both. 

"And,  notwithstanding  this  plan,  the  recommendation  that 
Congress  provide  by  law  for  compensating  any  State  which 
may  adopt  emancipation,  before  this  plan  shall  have  been 
acted  upon,  is  hereby  earnestly  renewed.  Such  would  be 
only  an  advance  part  of  the  plan,  and  the  same  arguments 
apply  to  both. 

"  This  plan  is  recommended  as  a  means,  not  in  exclusion 
of,  but  in  addition  to,  all  others  for  restoring  and  preserving 
the  National  authority  throughout  the  Union.  The  subject 
is  presented  exclusively  in  its  economical  aspect.  The  plan 
would,  I  am  confident,  secure  peace  more  speedily,  and  main- 
tain it  more  permanently,  than  can  be  done  by  force  alone  ; 


LAST  SESSION  OF  THIRTY-SEVENTH  CONGRESS.      219 
Messasre.  Permanent  Law.  Shortening  the  War. 

while  all  it  would  cost,  considering  amounts,  and  manner  of 
payment,  and  times  of  payment,  would  be  easier  paid  than 
will  be  the  additional  cost  of  the  war,  if  we  rely  solely  upon 
force.  It  is  much — very  much — that  it  would  cost  no  blood 
at  all. 

"  The  plan  is  proposed  as  permanent  constitutional  law. 
It  cannot  become  such  without  the  concurrence  of,  first,  two- 
thirds  of  Congress,  and,  afterward,  three-fourths  of  the  States. 
The  requisite  three-fourths  of  the  States,  will  necessarily  in- 
clude seven  of  the  slave  States.  Their  concurrence,  if 
obtained,  will  give  assurance  of  their  severally  adopting  eman- 
cipation, at  no  very  distant  day,  upon  the  new  constitutional 
terms.  This  assurance  would  end  the  struggle  now,  and  save 
the  Union  forever. 

"  I  do  not  forget  the  gravity  which  should  characterize  a 
paper  addressed  to  the  Congress  of  the  nation,  by  the  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  nation.  Nor  do  I  forget  that  some  of  you 
are  my  seniors ;  nor  that  many  of  you  have  more  experience 
than  I,  in  the  conduct  of  public  affairs.  Yet  I  trust  that,  in 
view  of  the  great  responsibility  resting  upon  me,  you  will 
perceive  no  want  of  respect  to  yourselves,  in  any  undue 
earnestness  I  may  seem  to  display. 

"  Is  it  doubted,  then,  that  the  plan  I  propose,  if  adopted, 
would  shorten  the  war,  and  thus  lessen  its  expenditure 
of  money  and  of  blood  ?  Is  it  doubted  that  it  would  restore 
the  national  authority  and  national  prosperity,  and  perpetuate 
both  indefinitely  ?  Is  it  doubted  that  we  here — Congress  and 
Executive — can  secure  its  adoption  ?  Will  not  the  good 
people  respond  to  a  united  and  earnest  appeal  from  us  ?  Can 
we,  can  they,  by  any  other  means,  so  certainly  or  so  speedily 
assure  these  vital  objects  ?  We  can  succeed  only  by  concert 
It  is  not,  '  Can  any  of  us  imagine  better  V  but,  *  Can  we  all 
do  better  ?  Object  whatsoever  is  possible,  still  the  question 
recurs,  '  Can  we  do  better  V  The  dogmas  of  the  quiet  past 
are  inadequate  to  the  stormy  present.      The  occasion  is  piled 


220  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Message.  Saving  the  Union.  The  Tide  Turned, 

high  with  difficulty,  and  we  must  rise  with  the  occasion.  As 
our  case  is  new,  so  we  must  think  anew,  and  act  anew.  We 
must  disinthrall  ourselves,  and  then  we  shall  save  our 
country. 

"  Fellow-citizens,  we  can  not  escape  history.  We  of  this 
Congress  and  this  Administration,  will  be  remembered  in 
spite  of  ourselves.  No  personal  significance,  or  insignifi- 
cance, can  spare  one  or  another  of  us.  The  fiery  trial 
through  which  we  pass,  will  light  us  down,  in  honor  or 
dishonor,  to  the  latest  generation.  We  say  we  are  for  the 
Union.  The  world  will  not  forget  that  we  say  this.  We 
know  how  to  save  the  Union.  The  world  knows  we  do 
know  how  to  save  it.  We — even  we  here — hold  the  power, 
and  bear  the  responsibility.  In  giving  freedom  to  the  slave, 
we  assure  freedom  to  the  free — honorable  alike  in  what  we 
give  and  what  we  preserve.  We  shall  nobly  save,  or  meanly 
lose,  the  last  best  hope  of  earth.  Other  means  may  succeed  ; 
this  could  not  fail.  The  way  is  plain,  peaceful,  generous, 
just  —  a  way  which,  if  followed,  the  world  will  forever 
applaud,  and  God  must  forever  bless. 

Dec.  1,  1862.  "Abraham  Lincoln." 


CHAPTER  XY. 

THE    TIDE    TURNED. 

Military  Successes — Favorable  Elections — Emancipation  Policy — Letter  to  Manchester 
(England)  Workingmen— Proclamation  for  a  National  Fast — Letter  to  Erastus  Coming- 
Letter  to  a  Committee  on  recalling  Vallandigham. 

It  had  been  decreed  by  a  kind  Providence  that  the  year 
1863  was  to  mark  a  turn  in  the  almost  unbroken  line  of 
reverses  which  the  Union  army  had  experienced  for  some 
time  previous. 


THE   TIDE   TURNED.  221 

>Iilitary  Successes.  Vallandigham.  Emancipation  Policy. 

True,  Hooker,  who  had  superseded  Burnside  in  command 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  had  been  signally  repulsed  at 
Chancellorsville  ;  but  this  was  more  than  compensated  by  the 
decided  victory  achieved  by  the  same  troops,  under  Meade, 
over  the  rebels  at  Gettysburg.  Grant,  by  the  capture  of 
Vicksburg,  and  the  surrender  of  Port  Hudson,  which  was  the 
inevitable  result,  had  opened  the  Mississippi  to  the  Gulf,  and 
completely  severed  the  bastard  confederacy.  We  moreover 
secured  East  Tennessee,  and  by  the  victories  of  Lookout 
Mountain  and  Missionary  Ridge,  and  the  repulse  of  a  rebel 
attempt  to  retake  Knoxville,  paved  the  way  for  an  oifensive 
movement  into  the  vitals  of  Georgia. 

The  sober,  second  thought  of  the  people  was  manifest. 
Yallandigham  in  Ohio,  who  for  his  treasonable  practices  had 
been  tried  by  Burnside's  order,  convicted,  and  ordered  South 
to  his  friends,  but  who  had  been  suffered  to  return  via  Canada, 
and  was  put  forward  as  the  exponent  of  "  Democracy"  in 
Ohio,  was  shelved  by  some  one  hundred  thousand  majority. 
Pennsylvania,  likewise,  more  than  redeemed  herself.  In  fact 
every  loyal  State — except  N"ew  Jersey  —  showed  decided 
majorities  for  the  Administration. 

In  this  election,  be  it  remembered,  the  emancipation  policy 
of  the  President  had  entered  largely  as  an  element  of  discus- 
sion ;  and  the  results  were  the  more  gratifying  as  it  estab- 
lished conclusively,  that  however  unfavorable  early  indica- 
tions might  have  been,  the  great  pulse  of  the  people  beat  in 
unison  with  freedom  for  man  as  man.  If  in  a  contest  like 
that  in  which  the  nation  was  then  engaged,  all  merely  merce- 
nary considerations  could  be  ov'erlooked,  deep-rooted  preju- 
dices mastered,  and  long  withheld  rights  cheerfully  granted, 
there  would  be,  indeed,  strong  grounds  to  hope  for  tho 
progress  of  our  race. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year,  the  President  received  a 
gratifying  evidence  of  the  appreciation  in  which  his  efforts  for 
freedom  were  held,  in  a  testimonial  of  sympathy  and  confi- 


222  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LIXCOL?!. 

Reply  to  Manchester  Workingmen.  Foreign  Sympathy, 

clence  from  the  workingmen   of   Manchester,  England ;    to 
which  address  he  made  the  following  reply : 

"Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  January  19,  1863. 

"To  THE  Workingmen  of  Manchester: — I  have  the 
honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the  address  and  resolu- 
tions which  you  sent  me  on  the  eve  of  the  new  year. 

"  When  I  came,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1861,  through  a  free 
and  constitutional  election,  to  preside  in  the  Government  of 
the  United  States,  the  country  was  found  at  the  verge  of 
civil  war.  Whatever  might  have  been  the  cause,  or  whose- 
soever the  fault,  one  duty,  paramount  to  all  others,  was 
before  me,  namely,  to  maintain  and  preserve  at  once  the  Con- 
stitution and  the  integrity  of  the  Federal  Republic.  A  con- 
scientious purpose  to  perform  this  duty  is  the  key  to  all  the 
measures  of  administration  which  have  been,  and  to  all 
which  will  hereafter  be  pursued.  Under  our  frame  of  govern- 
ment and  my  official  oath,  I  could  not  depart  from  this 
purpose  if  I  would.  It  is  not  always  in  the  power  of 
governments  to  enlarge  or  restrict  the  scope  of  moral  results 
which  follow  the  policies  that  they  may  deem  it  necessary, 
for  the  public  safety,  from  time  to  time  to  adopt. 

"  I  have  understood  well  that  the  duty  of  self-preservation 
rests  solely  with  the  American  people.  But  I  have,  at  the 
same  time,  been  aware  that  the  favor  or  disfavor  of  foreign 
nations  might  have  a  material  influence  in  enlarging  and  pro- 
longing the  struggle  with  disloyal  men  in  which  the  country 
is  engaged.  A  fair  examination  of  history  has  seemed  to 
authorize  a  belief  that  the  past  action  and  influences  of  the 
United  States  were  generally  regarded  as  having  been  bene- 
ficial toward  mankind.  I  have,  therefore,  reckoned  upon  the 
forbearance  of  nations.  Circumstances — to  some  of  which 
you  kindly  allude — induced  me  especially  to  expect  that,  if 
justice  and  good  faith  should  be  practised  by  the  United 
States,  they  would  encounter  no  hostile  influence  on  the  part 
of  Great  Britain.     It  is  now  a  pleasant  duty  to  acknowledge 


THE   TIDE   TURNED.  223 

Manchester  Letter  Friendly  Feelings. 

the  demonstration  you  have  given  of  your  desire  that  a  spirit 
of  peace  and  amity  toward  this  country  may  prevail  in  the 
councils  of  your  Queen,  who  is  respected  and  esteemed  in 
your  own  country  only  more  than  she  is  by  the  kindred  nation 
which  has  its  home  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

"  I  know,  and  deeply  deplore,  the  sufferings  which  the 
workingmen  at  Manchester,  and  in  all  Europe,  are  called  to 
endure  in  this  crisis.  It  has  been  often  and  studiously 
represented  that  the  attempt  to  overthrow  this  Government, 
which  was  built  upon  the  foundation  of  human  rights,  and  to 
substitute  for  it  one  which  should  rest  exclusively  on  the 
basis  of  human  slavery,  was  likely  to  obtain  the  favor  of 
Europe.  Through  the  action  of  our  disloyal  citizens,  the 
workingmen  of  Europe  have  been  subjected  to  severe  trial, 
for  the  purpose  of  forcing  their  sanction  to  that  attempt. 
Under  these  circumstances,  I  can  not  but  regard  your  decisive 
utterances  upon  the  question  as  an  instance  of  sublime  Chris- 
tian heroism,  which  has  not  been  surpassed  in  any  age  or  in 
any  country.  It  is  indeed  an  energetic  and  reinspiring  as- 
surance of  the  inherent  power  of  truth,  and  of  the  ultimate 
and  universal  triumph  of  justice,  humanity  and  freedom.  I 
do  not  doubt  that  the  sentiments  you  have  expresse^^  will  be 
sustained  by  your  great  nation ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  assuring  you  that  they  will  excite  ad- 
miration, esteem,  and  the  most  reciprocal  feelings  of  friend- 
ship among  the  American  people.  I  hail  this  interchange  of 
sentiment,  therefore,  as  an  augury  that,  whatever  else  may 
happen,  whatever  misfortune  may  befall  your  country  or  my 
own,  the  peace  and  friendship  which  now  exist  between  the 
two  nations  will  be,  as  it  shall  be  my  desire  to  make  them, 
perpetual.  Abraham  Lincoln." 

On  the  30th  of  March  the  following  proclamation  was 
issued  in  pursuance  of  a  request  to  that  effect  from  the 
Senate : 

"  Whereas,  The   Senate  of  the  United   States,  devoutly 


22i  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN 

Proclamation  for  a  Fast.  National  Punishment. 

recognizing  the  supreme  authority  and  just  government  of 
Almighty  God  in  all  the  affairs  of  men  and  of  nations,  has  by 
a  resolution  requested  the  President  to  designate  and  set 
apart  a  day  for  National  prayer  and  humiliation  ; 

"And  whereas,  It  is  the  duty  of  nations,  as  well  as  of 
men,  to  own  their  dependence  upon  the  overruling  power  of 
God,  to  confess  their  sins  and  transgressions  in  humble  sorrow, 
yet  with  assured  hope  that  genuine  repentance  will  lead  to 
mercy  and  pardon,  and  to  recognize  the  sublime  truth  an- 
nounced in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  proven  by  all  history, 
that  those  nations  only  are  blessed  whose  God  is  the  Lord  ; 

"And,  insomuch  as  we  know  that,  by  his  Divine  law, 
nations,  like  individuals,  are  subjected  to  punishments  and 
chastisements  in  this  world,  may  we  not  justly  fear  that  the 
awful  calamity  of  civil  war,  which  now  desolates  the  laud, 
may  be  but  a  punishment  inflicted  upon  us  for  our  presumptu- 
ous sins,  to  the  needful  end  of  our  National  reformation  as  a 
whole  people  ?  We  have  been  the  recipients  of  the  choicest 
bounties  of  Heaven.  We  have  been  preserved,  these  many 
years,  in  peace  and  prosperity.  We  have  grown  in  numbers, 
wealth  and  power,  as  no  other  nation  has  ever  grown.  But 
we  have  forgotten  God.  We  have  forgotten  the  gracious 
hand  which  preserved  us  in  peace,  and  multiplied  and  en- 
riched and  strengthened  us  ;  and  we  have  vainly  imagined,  in 
the  deceitfulness  of  our  hearts,  that  all  these  blessings  were 
produced  by  some  superior  wisdom  and  virtue  of  our  own. 
Intoxicated  with  unbroken  success,  we  have  become  too  self- 
sufficient  to  feel  the  necessity  of  redeeming  and  preserving 
grace,  too  proud  to  pray  to  the  God  that  made  us  ! 

"  It  behooves  us,  then,  to  humble  ourselves  before  the 
offended  Power,  to  confess  our  National  sins,  and  to  pray  for 
clemency  and  forgiveness. 

"  Now,  therefore,  in  compliance  with  the  request,  and  fully 
"  concurring  in  the  views  of  the  Senate,  I  do,  by  this  my  pro- 
clamation, designate  and  set  apart  Thursday,  the  thirteenth 


THE   TIDE   TURXED.  225 

Proclamation  for  a  Fast.  Letter  to  Erastus  Coi'uin^ 

day  of  April,  1863,  as  a  day  of  National  humiliation,  fasting 
and  prayer.  And  I  do  hereby  request  all  the  people  to 
abstain  on  that  day  from  their  ordinary  secular  pursuits,  and 
to  unite,  at  their  several  places  of  public  worship  and  then- 
respective  homes,  in  keeping  the  day  holy  to  the  Lord,  and 
devoted  to  the  humble  discharge  of  the  religious  duties  proper 
to  that  solemn  occasion. 

"All  this  being  done  in  sincerity  and  truth,  let  us  then 
rest  humbly  in  the  hope,  authorized  by  the  Divine  teachings, 
that  the  united  cry  of  the  Nation  will  be  heard  on  high,  and 
answered  with  blessings,  no  less  than  the  pardon  of  our 
National  sins,  and  restoration  of  our  now  divided  and  suffer- 
ing country  to  its  former  happy  condition  of  unity  and  peace. 

"  In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  on  this  thirtieth  day  of 
March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  sixty-three,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  Slates 
the  eighty-seventh. 

" By  the  President :  "Abraham  Lincoln. 

"  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

The  following  letter,  which  belongs  in  this  place,  will  ex- 
plain itself: 

"Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  June  13th,  1863. 

"  Hon.  Erastus  Corning  and  others — Gentlemen: — Your 
letter  of  May  19th,  inclosing  the  resolutions  of  a  public  meet- 
ing held  at  Albany,  New  York,  on  the  16th  of  the  same 
month,  was  received  several  days  ago. 

"  The  resolutions,  as  I  understand  them,  are  resolvable  into 
two  propositions — first,  the  expression  of  a  purpose  to  sustain 
the  cause  of  the  Union,  to  secure  peace  through  victory,  and 
to  support  the  Administration  in  every  constitutional  and 
lawful  measure  to  suppress  the  rebellion ;  and,  secondly,  a 
15 


226  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Letter  to  Corning.  Military  Arrests. 

declaration  of  censure  upon  the  Administration  for  supposed 
unconstitutional  action,  such  as  the  making  of  military  arrests. 
And  from  the  two  propositions  a  third  is  deduced,  which  is, 
that  the  gentlemen  composing  the  meeting  are  resolved  on 
doing  their  part  to  maintain  our  common  Government  and 
country,  despite  the  folly  or  wickedness,  as  they  may  con- 
ceive, of  any  Administration.  This  position  is  eminently 
patriotic,  and  as  such  I  thank  the  meeting  and  congratulate 
the  nation  for  it.  My  own  purpose  is  the  same  ;  so  that  the 
meeting  and  myself  have  a  common  object,  and  can  have  no 
difference,,  except  in  the  choice  of  means  or  measures  for 
effecting  that  object. 

"And  here  I  ought  to  close  this  paper,  and  would  close  it,  if 
there  were  no  apprehension  that  more  injurious  consequences 
than  any  merely  personal  to  myself  might  follow  the  censures 
systematically  cast  upon  me  for  doing  w^hat,  in  my  view  of 
duty,  I  could  not  forbear.  The  resolutions  promise  to  sup- 
port me  in  every  constitutional  and  lawful  measure  to  sup- 
press the  rebellion,  and  I  have  not  knowingly  employed,  nor 
shall  knowingly  employ,  any  other.  But  the  meeting,  by 
their  resolutions,  assert  and  argue  that  certain  military 
arrests  and  proceedings  following  them,  for  which  I  am  ulti- 
mately responsible,  are  unconstitutional.  I  think  they  are 
not.  The  resolutions  quote  from  the  Constitution  the  defini- 
tion of  treason,  and  also  the  limiting  safeguards  and  guaran- 
ties therein  provided  for  the  citizen  on  trial  for  treason,  and 
on  his  being  held  to  answer  for  capital,  or  otherwise  infamous 
crimes ;  and  in  criminal  prosecutions,  his  right  to  a  speedy 
and  public  trial  by  an  impartial  jury.  They  proceed  to  re- 
solve, '  that  these  safeguards  of  the  rights  of  the  citizen 
against  the  pretensions  of  arbitrary  power  were  intended 
more  especially  for  his  protection  in  times  of  civil  commo- 
tion.' 

"And,  apparently  to  demonstrate  the  proposition,  the 
resolutions  proceed  :  '  They  were  secured  substantially  to  the 


THE   TIDE   TURNED.  227 

Letter  to  Coruing.  No  Arrests  for  Treason. 

English  people  after  years  of  protracted  civil  war,  and  were 
adopted  into  our  Constitution  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution.' 
Would  not  the  demonstration  have  been  better  if  it  could  have 
been  truly  said  that  these  safeguards  had  been  adopted  and 
applied  during  the  civil  wars  and  during  our  Revolution,  in- 
stead of  after  the  one  and  at  the  close  of  the  other  ?  I,  too, 
am  devotedly  for  them  after  civil  war,  and  before  civil  war, 
and  at  all  times,  '  except  when,  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  inva- 
sion, the  public  safety  may  require'  their  suspension.  The 
resolutions  proceed  to  tell  us  that  these  safeguards  'have 
stood  the  test  of  seventy-six  years  of  trial,  undep  our  repub- 
lican system,  under  circumstances  which  show  that,  while 
they  constitute  the  foundation  of  all  free  government,  they 
are  the  elements  of  the  enduring  stability  of  the  Repub- 
lic' No  one  denies  that  they  have  so  stood  the  test  up  to  the 
beginning  of  the  present  rebellion,  if  we  except  a  certain  oc- 
currence at  New  Orleans ;  nor  does  any  one  question  that 
they  will  stand  the  same  test  much  longer  after  the  rebellion 
closes.  But  these  provisions  of  the  Constitution  have  no  ap- 
plication to  the  case  we  have  in  hand,  because  the  arrests 
complained  of  were  not  made  for  treason — that  is,  not  for  the 
treason  defined  in  the  Constitution,  and  upon  conviction  of 
which  the  punishment  is  death — nor  yet  were  they  made  to 
hold  persons  to  answer  for  any  capital  or  otherwise  infamous 
crimes  ;  nor  were  the  proceedings  following,  in  any  constitu- 
tional or  legal  sense,  'criminal  prosecutions.'  The  arrests 
were  made  on  totally  different  grounds,  and  the  proceedings 
following  accorded  with  the  grounds  of  the  arrest.  Let 
us  consider  the  real  case  with  which  we  are  dealing,  and 
apply  to  it  the  parts  of  the  Constitution  plainly  made  for  such 
cases. 

"  Prior  to  my  installation  here,  it  had  been  inculcated  that 
any  State  had  a  lawful  right  to  secede  from  the  National 
Union,  and  that  it  would  be  expedient  to  exercise  the  right 
whenever  the  devotees  of  the  doctrine  should  fail  to  elect  a 


228  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLX. 

Letter  to  Corning.  Schemes  of  the  Kebela, 


President  to  their  own  liking.  I  was  elected  contrary  to 
their  liking,  and  accordingly,  so  far  as  it  was  legally  possible, 
they  had  taken  seven  States  out  of  the  Union,  and  had  seized 
many  of  the  "United  States  forts,  and  had  fired  upon  the 
United  States  flag,  all  before  I  was  inaugurated,  and,  of 
course,  before  I  had  done  any  official  act  whatever.  The  re- 
bellion thus  began  soon  ran  into  the  present  civil  war ;  and, 
in  certain  respects,  it  began  on  very  unequal  terms  between 
the  parties.  The  insurgents  had  been  preparing  for  it  for 
more  than  thirty  years,  while  the  Government  had  taken  no 
steps  to  resist  them.  The  former  had  carefully  considered  all 
the  means  which  could  be  turned  to  their  account.  It  un- 
doubtedly was  a  well-pondered  reliance  with  them  that,  in 
their  own  unrestricted  efforts  to  destrov  Union,  Constitution, 
and  law  together,  the  Government  would,  in  a  great  degree, 
be  restrained  by  the  same  Constitution  and  law  from  arrest- 
ing their  progress.  Their  sympathizers  pervaded  all  depart- 
ments of  the  Government,  and  nearly  all  communities  of  the 
people.  From  this  material,  under  cover  of  '  liberty  of 
speech,'  '  liberty  of  the  press,'  and  '  habeas  corpus,'  they 
hoped  to  keep  on  foot  among  us  a  most  eSicient  corps  of 
spies,  informers,  suppliers,  and  aiders  and  abettors  of  their 
cause  in  a  thousand  ways.  They  knew  that  in  times  such  as 
they  were  inaugurating,  by  the  Constitution  itself,  the  '  habeas 
corpus'  might  be  suspended  ;  but  they  also  knew  they  had 
friends  who  would  make  a  question  as  to  icho  was  to  suspend 
it ;  meanwhile,  their  spies  and  others  might  remain  at  large 
to  help  on  their  cause.  Or  if,  as  has  happened,  the  Execu- 
tive should  suspend  the  writ,  without  ruinous  waste  of  time, 
instances  of  arresting  innocent  persons  might  occur,  as  are 
always  likely  to  occur  in  such  cases,  and  then  a  clamor  could 
be  raised  in  regard  to  this  which  might  be,  at  least,  of  some 
service  to  the  insurgent  cause.  It  needed  no  very  keen  per- 
ception to  discover  this  part  of  the  enemy's  programme,  so 
soon  as,  by  open  hostilities,  their  machinery  was  put  fairly  in 


THE   TIDE    TURNED.  229 

Letter  to  Corning.  Civil  Courts  Powerless 

motion.  Yet,  thoroughly  imbued  with  a  reverence  for  the 
guaranteed  rights  of  individuals,  I  was  slow  to  adopt  the 
strong  measures  which  by  degrees  I  have  been  forced  to  re- 
gard as  being  within  the  exceptions  of  the  Constitution,  and 
as  indispensable  to  the  public  safety.  Nothing  is  better 
known  to  history  than  that  courts  of  justice  are  utterly  incom- 
petent to  such  cases.  Civil  courts  are  organized  chiefly  for 
trials  of  individuals,  or,  at  most,  a  few  individuals  acting  in 
concert,  and  this  in  quiet  times,  and  on  charges  of  crimes  well 
defined  in  the  law.  Even  in  times  of  peace,  bands  of  horse- 
thieves  and  robbers  frequently  grow  too  numerous  and  power- 
ful for  the  ordinary  courts  of  justice.  But  what  comparison, 
in  numbers,  have  such  bands  ever  borne  to  the  insurgent 
sympathizers  even  in  many  of  the  loyal  States  ?  Again,  a 
jury  too  frequently  has  at  least  one  member  more  ready 
to  hang  the  panel,  than  to  hang  the  traitor.  And  yet,  again 
he  who  dissuades  one  man  from  volunteering,  or  induces  one 
soldier  to  desert,  weakens  the  Union  cause  as  much  as  he 
who  kills  a  Union  soldier  in  battle.  Yet  this  dissuasion 
or  inducement  may  be  so  conducted  as  to  be  no  defined 
crime  of  which  any  civil  court  would  take  cognizance. 

"  Ours  is  a  case  of  rebellion — so  called  by  the  resolution 
before  me — in  fact,  a  clear,  flagrant,  and  gigantic  case  of 
rebellion  ;  and  the  provision  of  the  Constitution  that  '  the 
privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  suspended 
unless  when,  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public 
safety  may  require  it,'  is  the  provision  which  specially  applies 
to  our  present  case.  This  provision  plainly  attests  the  under- 
standing of  those  who  made  the  Constitution,  that  ordinary 
coui'ts  of  justice  are  inadequate  to  '  cases  of  rebellion' — attests 
their  purpose  that,  in  such  cases,  men  may  be  held  in  custody 
whom  the  courts,  acting  on  ordinary  rules,  would  discharge. 
Habeas  corpus  docs  not  discharge  men  who  are  proved  to  be 
guilty  of  defined  crime  ;  and  its  suspension  is  allowed  by  the 
Constitution  on  purpose  that  men  may  be  arrested  and  hdd 


230  LIFE   OF   ABKAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Letter  to  Corning.  A  Few  Examplps 

who  can  not  be  proved  to  be  guilty  of  defined  crime,  '  when, 
in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public  safety  may  require 
it.'  This  is  precisely  our  present  case — a  case  of  rebellion, 
wherein  the  public  safety  does  require  the  suspension.  In- 
deed, arrests  by  process  of  courts,  and  arrests  in  cases  of 
rebellion,  do  not  proceed  altogether  upon  the  same  basis. 
The  former  is  directed  at  the  small  percentage  of  ordinary  and 
continuous  perpetration  of  crime  ;  while  the  latter  is  directed 
at  sudden  and  extensive  uprisings  against  the  Grovernmeut, 
which  at  most  will  succeed  or  fail  in  no  great  length  of  time. 
In  the  latter  case  arrests  are  made,  not  so  much  for  what  has 
been  done  as  for  what  probably  would  be  done.  The  latter 
is  more  for  the  preventive  and  less  for  the  vindictive  than  the 
former.  In  such  cases  the  purposes  of  men  are  much  more 
easily  understood  than  in  cases  of  ordinary  crime.  The  man 
who  stands  by  and  says  nothing  when  the  peril  of  his  Govern- 
ment is  discussed,  can  not  be  misunderstood.  If  not  hindered, 
he  is  sure  to  help  the  enemy  ;  much  more,  if  he  talks  ambig- 
uously— talks  for  his  country  with  '  buts,'  and  '  ifs'  and  '  ands.' 
Of  how  little  value  the  constitutional  provisions  I  have 
quoted  will  be  rendered,  if  arrests  shall  never  be  made  until 
defined  crimes  shall  have  been  committed,  may  be  illustrated 
by  a  few  notable  examples.  General  John  C.  Breckinridge, 
General  Robert  E.  Lee,  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  General 
John  B.  Magruder,  General  William  B.  Preston,  General 
Simon  B.  Buckner,  and  Commodore  Franklin  Buchanan,  now 
occupying  the  very  highest  places  in  the  rebel  war  service, 
were  all  within  the  power  of  the  Government  since  the  rebel- 
lion began,  and  were  nearly  as  well  known  to  be  traitors 
then  as  now.  Unquestionably,  if  we  had  seized  and  held 
them,  the  insurgent  cause  would  be  much  weaker.  But  no 
one  of  them  had  then  committed  any  crime  defined  by  law. 
Every  one  of  them,  if  arrested,  would  have  been  discharged 
on  habeas  corpus,  were  the  writ  allowed  to  operate.  In  view 
of  these  and  similar  cases,  I  think  the  time  not  unlikely  to 


THE   TIDE   TUENED.  231 

Letter  to  CSorning.  Where  Arrests  should  be  Made. 

come  when  I  shall  be  blamed  for  having  made  too  few  arrests 
rather  than  too  many. 

•'  By  the  third  resolution,  the  meeting  indicate  their  opinion 
that  military  arrests  may  be  constitutional  in  localities  where 
rebellion  actually  exists,  but  that  such  arrests  are  unconstitu- 
tional in  localities  where  rebellion  or  insurrection  does  not 
actually  exist.  They  insist  that  such  arrests  shall  not  be 
made  '  outside  of  the  lines  of  necessary  military  occupation 
and  the  scenes  of  insurrection.'  Inasmuch,  however,  as  the 
Constitution  itself  makes  no  such  distinction,  I  am  unable  to 
believe  that  there  is  any  such  constitutional  distinction.  I 
concede  that  the  class  of  arrests  complained  of  can  be  consti- 
tutional only  when,  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  pub- 
lic safety  may  require  them  ;  and  I  insist  that  in  such  cases 
they  are  Constitutional  wherever  the  public  safety  does  re- 
quire them  ;  as  well  in  places  to  which  they  may  prevent  the 
rebellion  extending,  as  in  those  where  it  may  be  already 
prevailing  ;  as  well  where  they  may  restrain  mischievous  in- 
terference with  the  raising  and  supplying  of  armies  to  suppress 
the  rebellion,  as  where  the  rebellion  may  actually  be  ;  as  well 
where  they  may  restrain  the  enticing  men  out  of  the  army,  as 
where  they  would  prevent  mutiny  in  the  army  ;  equally  con- 
stitutional at  all  places  where  they  will  conduce  to  the  public 
safety,  as  against  the  dangers  of  rebellion  or  invasion.  Take 
the  particular  case  mentioned  by  the  meeting.  It  is  asserted, 
in  substance,  that  Mr.  Vallandigham  was,  by  a  military  com- 
mander, seized  and  tried  'for  no  other" reason  than  words 
addressed  to  a  public  meeting,  in  criticism  of  the  course  of 
the  Administration,  and  in  condemnation  of  the  military 
orders  of  the  general.'  Now,  if  there  be  no  mistake  about 
this ;  if  this  assertion  is  the  truth  and  the  whole  truth  ;  if 
there  was  no  other  reason  for  the  an-est,  then  I  concede  that 
the  arrest  was  wrong.  But  the  arrest,  as  I  understand,  was 
made  for  a  very  different  reason,  Mr.  Vallandigham  avows 
his  hostility  to  the  war  on  the  part  of  the  Union  ;  and  his 


232  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Letter  to  Corning.  Tallandigbam's  Arrest. 

arrest  was  made  because  he  was  laboring,  with  some  effect, 
to  prevent  the  raising  of  troops  ;  to  encourage  desertion  from 
the  army,  and  to  leave  the  rebellion  without  an  adequate  mil- 
itary force  to  suppress  it.  He  was  not  arrested  because  he 
was  damaging  the  political  prospects  of  the  Administration, 
or  the  personal  interests  of  the  commanding  general,  but  be- 
cause he  was  damaging  the  army,  upon  the  existence  and 
vigor  of  which  the  life  of  the  nation  depends.  He  was  war- 
ring upon  the  military,  and  this  gave  the  military  constitu- 
tional jurisdiction  to  lay  hands  upon  him.  If  Mr.  Vallandig- 
ham  was  not  damaging  the  military  power  of  the  country, 
then  this  arrest  was  made  on  mistake  of  fact,  which  I  would 
be  glad  to  correct  on  reasonably  satisfactory  evidence. 

"  I  understand  the  meeting  whose  resolutions  I  am  consid- 
ering to  be  in  favor  of  suppressing  the  rebellion  by  military 
force — by  armies.  Long  experience  has  shown  that  armies 
eannot  be  maintained  unless  desertions  shall  be  punished  by 
the  severe  penalty  of  death.  The  case  requires,  and  the  law 
and  the  Constitution  sanction,  this  punishment.  Must  I 
shoot  a  simple-minded  soldier  boy  who  deserts,  while  I  must 
not  touch  a  hair  of  a  wily  agitator  who  induces  him  to  desert  ? 
This  is  none  the  less  injurious  when  effected  by  getting  a 
father,  or  brother,  or  friend,  into  a  public  meeting,  and  there 
working  upon  his  feelings  till  he  is  persuaded  to  write  the 
soldier  boy  that  he  is  fighting  in  a  bad  cause,  for  a  wicked 
Administration  of  a  contemptible  Government,  too  weak  to 
arrest  and  punish  him  if  he  shall  desert.  I  think  that  in  such 
a  case  to  silence  the  agitator  and  save  the  boy  is  not  only 
constitutional,  but  withal  a  great  mercy. 

"  If  I  be  wrong  on  this  question  of  constitutional  power, 
my  error  lies  in  believing  that  certain  proceedings  are  consti- 
tutional when,  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public 
Bafety  requii'es  them,  which  would  not  be  constitutional  when, 
in  the  absence  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public  safety  does 
not  require  them  ;  in  other  words,  that  the  Constitution  is  not, 


THE   TIDE   TURNED.  233 

tetter  to  Corning.  Democrats. 

iQ  its  application,  in  all  respects  the  same — in  cases  of  rebel- 
lion or  invasion  involving  the  public  safety,  as  it  is  in  time  of 
profound  peace  and  public  security.  The  Constitution  itself 
makes  the  distinction ;  and  I  can  no  more  be  persuaded  that 
the  Government  can  constitutionally  take  no  strong  measures 
in  time  of  rebellion,  because  it  can  be  shown  that  the  same 
could  not  be  lawfully  taken  in  time  of  peace,  than  I  can  be 
persuaded  that  a  particular  drug  is  not  good  medicine  for  a 
sick  man,  because  it  can  be  shown  not  to  be  good  food  for  a 
well  one.  Nor  am  I  able  to  appreciate  the  danger  appre- 
hended by  the  meeting,  that  the  American  people  will,  by 
means  of  military  arrests  during  the  rebellion,  lose  the  right 
of  public  discussion,  the  liberty  of  speech  and  the  press,  the 
law  of  evidence,  trial  by  jury,  and  habeas  corpus,  throughout 
the  indefinite  peaceful  future,  which  I  trust  lies  before  them, 
any  more  than  I  am  able  to  believe  that  a  man  could  contract 
so  strong  an  appetite  for  emetics,  during  temporary  illness,  as 
to  persist  in  feeding  upon  them  during  the  remainder  of  his 
healthful  life. 

"  In  giving  the  resolutions  that  earnest  consideration  which 
you  request  of  me,  I  can  not  overlook  the  fact  that  the  meet- 
ing speak  as  '  Democrats. '  Nor  can  I,  with  full  respect  for 
their  known  intelligence,  and  the  fairly  presumed  deliberation 
with  which  they  prepared  their  resolutions,  be  permitted  to 
suppose  that  this  occurred  by  accident,  or  in  any  way  other 
than  that  they  preferred  to  designate  themselves  '  Democrats' 
rather  than  'American  Citizens.'  In  this  time  of  National 
peril,  I  would  have  preferred  to  meet  you  on  a  level  one  step 
higher  than  any  party  platform  ;  because  I  am  sure  that,  from 
such  more  elevated  position,  we  could  do  better  battle  for  the 
country  we  all  love  than  we  possibly  can  from  those  lower 
ones  where,  from  the  force  of  habit,  the  prejudices  of  the  past, 
and  selfish  hopes  of  the  future,  we  are  sure  to  expend  much 
of  our  ingenuity  and  strength  in  finding  fault  with  and  aiming 
blows  at  each  other.     But,  since  you  have  denied  me  this,  I 


234  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN, 

Letter  to  Cormiig.  Gen.  Jackson's  Course. 

will  yet  be  thankful  for  the  country's  sake,  that  not  all  Demo- 
crats have  done  so.  He  on  whose  discretionary  judgment 
Mr.  Vallandigham  was  arrested  and  tried  is  a  Democrat, 
having  no  old  party  aifinity  with  me  ;  and  the  judge  who  re- 
jected the  constitutional  view  expressed  in  these  resolutions, 
by  refusing  to  discharge  Mr.  Yallandigham  on  habeas  C07'pus, 
is  a  Democrat  of  better  days  than  these,  having  received  his 
judicial  mantle  at  the  hands  of  President  Jackson.  And 
still  more,  of  all  those  Democi'ats  who  are  nobly  exposing 
their  lives  and  shedding  their  blood  on  the  battle-field,  I  have 
learned  that  many  approve  the  course  taken  with  Mr.  Val- 
landigham, while  I  have  not  heard  of  a  single  one  condemning 
it.     I  can  not  assert  that  there  are  none  such. 

"And  the  name  of  Jackson  recalls  an  incident  of  pertinent 
history :  After  the  battle  of  New  Orleans,  and  while  the  fact 
that  the  treaty  of  peace  had  been  concluded  was  well  known 
in  the  city,  but  before  official  knowledge  of  it  had  arrived, 
Gen.  Jackson  still  maintained  martial  or  military  law.  Now 
that  it  could  be  said  the  war  was  over,  the  clamor  against 
martial  law,  which  had  existed  from  the  first,  grew  more 
furious.  Among  other  things,  a  Mr.  Louiallier  published  a 
denunciatory  newspaper  article.  Gen.  Jackson  arrested  him. 
A  lawyer  by  the  name  of  Morrel  procured  the  United  States 
Judge  Hall  to  issue  a  writ  of  habeas  coiyus  to  relieve  Mr. 
Louiallier.  Gen.  Jackson  arrested  both  the  lawyer  and  the 
Judge.  A  Mr.  Hollander  ventured  to  say  of  some  part  of 
the  matter  that  '  it  was  a  dirty  trick.'  Gen.  Jackson  arrested 
him.  When  the  officer  undertook  to  serve  the  writ  of  habeas 
corpus,  Gen.  Jackson  took  it  from  him,  and  sent  him  away 
with  a  copy.  Holding  the  judge  in  custody  a  few  days,  the 
general  sent  him  beyond  the  limits  of  his  encampment,  and 
set  him  at  liberty,  with  an  order  to  remain  till  the  ratification 
of  peace  should  be  regularly  announced,  or  until  the  British 
should  have  left  the  Southern  coast.  A  day  or  two  more 
elapsed,  the  ratification  of  a  treaty  of  peace  was  regularly 


THE   TIDE   TURNED.  235 

Letter  to  Coruing.  Arbitrary  Arrests. 

announced,  and  the  judge  and  others  were  fully  liberated. 
A  few  days  more,  and  the  judge  called  Gen.  Jackson  into 
court  and  fined  him  $1,000  for  having  arrested  him  and  the 
others  named.  The  general  paid  the  fine,  and  there  the 
matter  rested  for  nearly  thirty  years,  when  Congress  re- 
funded principal  and  interest.  The  late  Senator  Douglas, 
then  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  took  a  leading  part  in 
the  debates,  in  which  the  constitutional  question  was  much 
discussed.  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  whom  the  journals 
would  show  to  have  voted  for  the  measure. 

"  It  may  be  remarked  :  First,  that  we  had  the  same  Con- 
stitution then  as  now ;  secondly,  that  we  then  had  a  case  of 
invasion,  and  now  we  have  a  case  of  rebellion  ;  and,  thirdly, 
that  the  permanent  right  of  the  people  to  public  discussion, 
the  liberty  of  speech  and  of  the  press,  the  trial  by  jury,  the 
law  of  evidence,  and  the  habeas  corpus,  suffered  no  detriment 
whatever  by  that  conduct  of  Gen.  Jackson,  or  its  subsequent 
approval  by  the  American  Congress. 

"And  yet,  let  me  say  that,  in  my  own  discretion,  I  do  not 
know  whether  I  would  have  ordered  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Yal- 
landigham.  While  I  can  not  shift  the  responsibility  from 
myself,  I  hold  that,  as  a  general  rule,  the  commander  in  the 
field  is  the  better  judge  of  the  necessity  in  any  particular 
case.  Of  course,  I  must  practise  a  general  directory  and 
revisory  power  in  the  matter. 

"  One  of  the  resolutions  expresses  the  opinion  of  the  meet- 
ing that  arbitrary  arrests  will  have  the  effect  to  divide  and 
distract  those  who  should  be  united  in  suppressing  the  rebel- 
lion, and  I  am  specifically  called  on  to  discharge  Mr.  Vallan- 
digham.  I  regard  this  as,  at  least,  a  fair  appeal  to  me  on 
the  expediency  of  exercising  a  constitutional  power  which  I 
think  exists.  In  response  to  such  appeal,  I  have  to  say,  it 
gave  me  pain  when  I  learned  that  Mr.  Yallandigham  had 
been  arrested — that  is,  I  was  pained  that  there  should  have 
seemed  to  be  a  necessity  for  arresting  him — and  that  it  will 


236  LIFE   OF  ABEAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Letter  to  Corning.  Letter  to  Ohio  "  Democrats." 

afford  me  great  pleasure  to  discliarge  him  so  soon  as  I  can, 
by  any  means,  believe  the  public  safety  will  not  suffer  by  it. 
I  further  say  that,  as  the  war  progresses,  it  appears  to  me, 
opinion  and  action  which  were  in  great  confusion  at  first, 
take  shape  and  fall  into  more  regular  channels,  so  that  the 
necessity  for  strong  dealing  with  them  gradually  decreases. 
I  have  every  reason  to  desire  that  it  should  cease  altogether  ; 
and  far  from  the  least  is  my  regard  for  the  opinions  and 
wishes  of  those  who,  like  the  meeting  at  Albany,  declare  their 
purpose  to  sustain  the  Government  in  every  constitutional 
and  lawful  measure  to  suppress  the  rebellion.  Still,  I  must 
continue  to  do  so  much  as  may  seem  to  be  required  by  the 
public  safety.  A.  Lincoln." 

Mr.  Lincoln,  having  been  waited  upon  by  a  Committee  of 
Ohio  "  Democrats,"  who  urged  him  to  recall  Vallandigham, 
whom  they  sought  to  exalt  as  a  "martyr  to  popular  rights," 
addressed  the  following  reply,  the  quiet  sarcasm  of  which  is 
not  the  least  of  its  many  good  points  : 

"Washington,  June  29,  1863. 

"  Gentlemen  : — The  resolutions  of  the  Ohio  Democratic 
State  Convention,  which  you  present  me,  together  with  your 
introductory  and  closing  remarks,  being,  in  position  and 
argument,  mainly  the  same  as  the  resolutions  of  the  Demo- 
cratic meeting  at  Albany,  New  York,  I  refer  you  to  my 
response  to  the  latter  as  meeting  most  of  the  points  in  the 
former. 

"  This  response  you  evidently  used  in  preparing  your 
remarks,  and  I  desire  no  more  than  that  it  be  used  with 
accuracy.  In  a  single  reading  of  your  remarks,  I  only  dis- 
covered one  inaccuracy  in  matter  which  I  suppose  you  took 
from  that  paper.  It  is  where  you  say,  '  The  undersigned  are 
unable  to  agree  with  you  in  the  opinion  you  have  expressed 
that  the  Constitution  is  different  in  time  of  insurrection  or 
invasion  :r  jm  what  it  is  in  time  of  peace  and  public  security.' 


THE   TIDE   TURNED.  237 

Tietter  to  Ohio  Democrati;.  Habeas  Corpua. 

"A  recurrence  to  the  paper  will  show  vou  that  I  have  not 
expressed  the  opinion  you  suppose.  I  expressed  the  opinion 
that  the  Constitution  is  different  in  its  application  in  cases  of 
rebellion  or  invasion  involving  the  public  safety,  from  what  it 
is  in  times  of  profound  peace  and  public  security.  And  this 
opinion  I  adhere  to,  simply  because,  by  the  Constitution  itself, 
things  may  be  done  in  the  one  case  which  may  not  be  done 
in  the  other. 

"  I  dislike  to  waste  a  word  on  a  merely  personal  point,  but 
I  must  respectfully  assure  you  that  you  will  find  yourselves 
at  fault  should  you  ever  seek  for  evidence  to  prove  your 
assumption  that  I  'opposed,  in  discussions  before  the  people, 
the  policy  of  the  Mexican  War.' 

"  You  say  :  'Expunge  from  the  Constitution  this  limitation 
upon  the  power  of  Congress  to  suspend  the  writ  of  habeas 
corpus,  and  yet  the  other  guaranties  of  personal  liberty 
would  remain  unchanged.'  Doubtless,  if  this  clause  of  the 
Constitution,  improperly  called,  as  I  think,  a  limitation  upon 
the  power  of  Congress,  were  expunged,  the  other  guaranties 
would  remain  the  same  ;  but  the  question  is,  not  how  those 
guaranties  would  stand  with  that  clause  out  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, but  how  they  stand  with  that  clause  remaining  in  it,  in 
case  of  rebellion  or  invasion  involving  the  public  safety.  If 
the  liberty  could  be  indulged  in  expunging  that  clause,  letter 
and  spirit,  I  really  think  the  constitutional  argument  would 
be  with  you. 

"My  general  view  on  this  question  was  stated  in  the 
Albany  response,  and  hence  I  do  not  state  it  now.  I  only 
add  that,  as  seems  to  me,  the  benefit  of  the  writ  of  habeas 
corpus  is  the  great  means  through  which  the  guaranties  of 
personal  liberty  are  conserved  and  made  available  in  the  last 
resort ;  and  corroborative  of  this  view  is  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Yallandigham,  in  the  very  case  in  question,  under  the  advice 
of  able  lawyers,  saw  not  where  else  to  go  but  to  the  habeas 
corpus.     But  by  the  Constitution  the  benefit  of  the  writ  of 


238  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Letter  to  Ohio  Democrats.  Who  is  to  Iiecide. 

habeas  corpus  itself  may  be  suspended,  when,  in  case  of  rebel- 
lion or  invasion,  the  public  safety  may  require  it. 

"  You  ask,  in  substance,  whether  I  really  claim  that  I  may 
override  all  the  guaranteed  rights  of  individuals,  on  the  plea 
of  conserving  the  public  safety — when  I  may  choose  to  say 
the  public  safety  requires  it.  This  question,  divested  of  the 
phraseology  calculated  to  repi*esent  me  as  struggling  for  an 
arbitrary  personal  prerogative,  is  either  simply  a  question 
who  shall  decide,  or  an  affirmation  that  nobody  shall  decide, 
what  the  public  safety  does  require  in  cases  of  rebellion  or 
invasion.  The  Constitution  contemplates  the  question  as 
likely  to  occur  for  decision,  but  it  does  not  expressly  declare 
who  is  to  decide  it.  By  necessary  implication,  when  rebellion 
or  invasion  comes,  the  decision  is  to  be  made  from  time  to 
time ;  and  I  think  the  man  whom,  for  the  time,  the  people 
have,  under  the  Constitution,  made  their  Commander-in-chief 
of  the  Army  and  Navy,  is  the  man  who  holds  the  power  and 
bears  the  responsibility  of  making  it.  If  he  uses  the  power 
justly,  the  same  people  will  probably  justify  him ;  if  be 
abuses  it,  he  is  in  their  bands,  to  be  dealt  with  by  all  the 
modes  they  have  reserved  to  themselves  in  the  Constitution. 

"  The  earnestness  with  which  you  insist  that  persons  can 
only,  in  times  of  rebellion,  be  lawfully  dealt  with  in  accordance 
with  the  rules  for  criminal  trials  and  punishments  in  times  of 
peace,  induces  me  to  add  a  word  to  what  I  said  on  that  point 
in  the  Albany  response.  You  claim  that  men  may,  if  they 
choose,  embarrass  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  combat  a  giant 
rebellion,  and  then  be  dealt  with  only  in  turn  as  if  there  were 
no  rebellion.  The  Constitution  itself  rejects  this  view.  The 
military  arrests  and  detentions  which  have  been  made,  in- 
cluding those  of  Mr.  Vallandigham,  which  are  not  different 
in  principle  from  the  other,  have  been  fov  p7'evention,  and  not 
for  punishment — as  injunctions  to  stay  injury,  as  proceedings 
to  keep  the  peace — and  hence,  like  proceedings  in  such  cases 
and  for  like  reasons,  they  have  not  been  accompanied  with 


•     THE   TIDE    TURNED.  239 

Letter  to  Ohio  Democrats.  Vallandigham's  Cause. 

indictments,  or  trial  by  juries,  nor  in  a  single  case  by  any 
punishment  whatever  beyond  what  is  purely  incidental  to  the 
prevention.  The  original  sentence  of  imprisonment  in  Mr. 
Yallandigham's  case  was  to  prevent  injury  to  the  military 
service  only,  and  the  modification  of  it  was  made  as  a  less 
disagreeable  mode  to  him  of  securing  the  same  prevention. 

"  I  am  unable  to  perceive  an  insult  to  Ohio  in  the  case  of 
Mr.  Yallandigham.  Quite  surely  nothing  of  this  sort  was  or 
is  intended.  I  was  wholly  unaware  that  Mr.  Yallandigham 
was,  at  the  time  of  his  arrest,  a  candidate  for  the  Democratic 
nomination  for  Governor,  until  so  informed  by  your  reading 
to  me  the  resolutions  of  the  convention.  I  am  grateful  to 
the  State  of  Ohio  for  many  things,  especially  for  the  brave 
soldiers  and  officers  she  has  given,  in  the  present  national 
trial,  to  the  armies  of  the  Union. 

"  You  claim,  as  I  understand,  that,  according  to  my  own 
position  in  the  Albany  response,  Mr.  Yallandigham  should  be 
released  ;  and  this  because,  as  you  claim,  he  has  not  damaged 
the  military  service  by  discouraging  enlistments,  encouraging 
desertions,  or  otherwise ;  and  that  if  he  had,  he  should  have 
been  turned  over  to  the  civil  authorities  under  the  recent  Act 
of  Congress.  I  certainly  do  not  knoxo  that  Mr.  Yallandigham 
has  specifically  and  by  direct  language  advised  against  enlist- 
ments and  in  favor  of  desertions  and  resistance  to  drafting. 
We  all  know  that  combinations,  armed,  in  some  instances, 
to  resist  the  arrest  of  deserters,  began  several  months  ago  ; 
that  more  recently  the  like  has  appeared  in  resistance  to  the 
enrollment  preparatory  to  a  draft ;  and  that  quite  a  number 
of  assassinations  have  occurred  from  the  same  animus. 
These  had  to  be  met  by  military  force,  and  this  again  has  led 
to  bloodshed  and  death.  And  now,  under  a  sense  of  respon- 
sibility more  weighty  and  enduring  than  any  which  is  merely 
official,  I  solemnly  declare  my  belief  that  this  hindrance 
of  the  military,  including  maiming  and  murder,  is  due  to  the 
cause   in   which    Mr.  Yallandigham   has   been  engaged,  in 


2i0  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Letter  to  Ohio  Democrats.  Against  Trosecutiug  the  War. 

a  greater  degree  than  to  any  other  cause  ;  and  it  is  due  to 
him  personally  in  a  greater  degree  than  to  any  other  one 
man. 

"  These  things  have  been  notorious,  known  to  all,  and  of 
course  known  to  Mr.  Vallandigham.  Perhaps  I  would  not 
be  wrong  to  say  they  originated  with  his  especial  friends  and 
adherents.  With  perfect  knowledge  of  them  he  has  fre- 
quently, if  not  constantly,  made  speeches  in  Congress  and 
before  popular  assemblies  ;  and  if  it  can  be  shown  that,  with 
these  things  staring  him  in  the  face,  he  has  ever  uttered 
a  word  of  rebuke  or  counsel  against  them,  it  will  be  a 
fact  greatly  in  his  favor  with  me,  and  one  of  which,  as 
yet,  I  am  totally  ignorant.  When  it  is  known  that  the 
whole  burden  of  his  speeches  has  been  to  stir  up  men  against 
the  prosecution  of  the  war,  and  that  in  the  midst  of  re- 
sistance to  it  he  has  not  been  known  in  any  instance  to 
counsel  against  such  resistance,  it  is  next  to  impossible 
to  repel  the  inference  that  he  has  counselled  directly  in  favor 
of  it. 

"  With  all  this  before  their  eyes,  the  convention  you  repre- 
sent have  nominated  Mr.  Vallandigham  for  Governor  of 
Ohio,  and  both  they  and  you  have  declared  the  purpose  to 
sustain  the  National  Union  by  all  constitutional  means ;  but, 
of  course,  they  and  you,  in  common,  reserve  to  yourselves  to 
decide  what  are  constitutional  means,  and,  unlike  the  Albany 
meeting,  you  omit  to  state  or  intimate  that,  in  your  opinion, 
an  army  is  a  constitutional  means  of  saving  the  Union  against 
a  rebellion,  or  even  to  intimate  that  you  are  conscious  of  an 
existing  rebellion  being  in  progress  with  the  avowed  object 
of  destroying  that  very  Union.  At  the  same  time,  your 
nominee  for  Governor,  in  whose  behalf  you  appeal,  is  known 
to  you,  and  to  the  world,  to  declare  against  the  use  of  an 
army  to  suppress  the  rebellion.  Your  own  attitude,  there- 
fore, encourages  desertion,  resistance  to  the  draft,  and  the 
like,  because  it  teaches  those  who  incline  to  desert  and  to 


THE    TIDE    TURNED.  241 

I<€tter  to  OLio  Democrats.  Three  Proiiositions. 

escape  the  draft,  to  believe  it  is  your  purpose  to  protect 
them,  and  to  hope  that  you  will  become  strong  enough  to 
do  so. 

"After  a  personal  intercourse  with  you,  gentlemen  of 
the  Committee,  I  can  not  say  I  think  you  desire  this  effect  to 
follow  your  attitude  ;  but  I  assure  you  that  both  friends  and 
enemies  of  the  Union  look  upon  it  in  this  light.  It  is  a  sub- 
stantial hope,  and  by  consequence,  a  real  strength  to  the 
enemy.  If  it  is  a  false  hope,  and  one  which  you  would 
willingly  dispel,  I  will  make  the  way  exceedingly  easy. 
I  send  you  duplicates  of  this  letter,  in  order  that  you,  or 
a  majority  of  you,  may,  if  you  choose,  indorse  your  names 
upon  one  of  them,  and  return  it  thus  indorsed  to  me,  with 
the  understanding  that  those  signing  are  thereby  committed 
to  the  following  propositions,  and  to  nothing  else  : 

"  1.  That  there  is  now  a  rebellion  in  the  United  States,  the 
object  and  tendency  of  which  is  to  destroy  the  National 
Union ;  and  that,  in  your  opinion,  an  army  and  navy  are 
constitutional  means  for  suppressing  that  rebellion. 

"  2.  That  no  one  of  you  will  do  any  thing  which,  in  his  own 
judgment,  will  tend  to  hinder  the  increase,  or  favor  the 
decrease,  or  lessen  the  efficiency  of  the  Army  and  Navy, 
while  engaged  in  the  effort  to  suppress  that  rebellion  ;  and — 

"  3.  That  each  of  you  will,  in  his  sphere,  do  all  he  can  to 
have  the  officers,  soldiers,  and  seamen  of  the  Army  and 
Navy,  while  engaged  in  the  effort  to  suppress  the  rebellion, 
paid,  fed,  clad,  and  otherwise  well  provided  and  supported. 

"And  with  the  further  understanding  that  upon  receiving 
the  letter  and  names  thus  indorsed,  I  will  cause  them  to  be 
published,  which  publication  shall  be,  within  itself,  a  revoca- 
tion of  the  order  in  relation  to  Mr.  Yallandigham. 

"  It   will    not   escape   observation  that   I   consent  to  the 

release  of  Mr.  Yallandigham  upon  terms  not  embracing  any 

pledge  from  him  or  from  others  as  to  what  he  will  or  will  not 

do.     I  do  this  because  he  is  not  present  to  speak  for  himself, 

16 


242  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN". 

Letter  to  Ohio  Democrats.  Speech  at  Washington. 

or  to  authorize  others  to  speak  for  him  ;  and  hence  I  shall 
expect  that  on  returning  he  would  not  put  himself  practically 
in  antagonism  with  the  position  of  his  friends.  But  I  do  it 
chiefly  because  I  thereby  prevail  on  other  influential  gentle- 
men of  Ohio  to  so  define  their  position  as  to  be  of  immense 
value  to  the  army^thus  more  than  compensating  for  the  con- 
sequences of  any  mistake  in  allowing  Mr.  Yallandigham  to 
return,  so  that,  on  the  whole,  the  public  safety  will  not  have 
suffered  by  it.  Still,  in  regard  to  Mr.  Yallandigham  and  all 
others,  I  must  hereafter,  as  heretofore,  do  so  much  as  the 
public  service  may  seem  to  require. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be  respectfully,  yours,  etc., 

"Abraham  Lincoln." 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

LETTERS    AND    SPEECHES. 

Speech  at  "Washington — Letter  to  General  Grant — Thanksgiving  Proclamation — Letter 
concerning  the  Emancipation  Proclamation — ^Proclamation  for  Annual  Thanksgiving — 
Dedicatory  Speech  at  Gettysburg. 

On  the  evening  of  the  4th  of  July,  1863,  having  been  ser- 
enaded by  many  of  the  citizens  of  Washington,  jubilant  over 
the  defeat  of  the  rebels  at  Gettysburg,  the  President  acknowl- 
edged the  compliment  thus  : 

"  Fellow-citizens  : — I  am  very  glad  indeed  to  see  you  to- 
night, and  yet  I  will  not  say  I  thank  you  for  this  call ;  but  I 
do  most  sincerely  thank  Almighty  God  for  the  occasion  on 
which  you  have  called.  How  long  ago  is  it — eighty  odd 
years — since,  on  the  4th  of  July,  for  the  first  time  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world,  a  nation,  by  its  representatives,  assembled 
and  declared  as  a  self-evident  truth,  '  that  all  men  are  created 
equal  V    That  was  the  birthday  of  the  United  States  of  Amer- 


LETTERS   AND   SPEECHES.  243 

Fourth  of  July.  Battle  of  Gettysburg^ 
■ —    -'• ■ 

ica.  Since  then,  the  4th  of  July  has  had  several  very  peculiar 
recognitions.  The  two  men  most  distinguished  in  the  framing 
and  support  of  the  Declaration,  were  Thomas  Jefferson  and 
John  Adams — the  one  having  penned  it,  and  the  other  sus- 
tained it  the  most  forcibly  in  debate — the  only  two,  of  the 
iifty-five  who  signed  it,  who  were  elected  Presidents  of  the 
United  States.  Precisely  fifty  years  after  they  put  their 
hands  to  the  paper,  it  pleased  Almighty  God  to  take  both 
from  this  stage  of  action.  This  was  indeed  an  extraordinary 
and  remarkable  event  in  our  history.  Another  President, 
five  years  after,  was  called  from  this  stage  of  existence  on  the 
same  day  and  month  of  the  year  ;  and  now,  on  this  last  4th 
of  July  just  passed,  when  we  have  a  gigantic  rebellion,  at 
the  bottom  of  which  is  an  eflFort  to  overthrow  the  principle 
that  all  men  were  created  equal,  we  have  the  surrender  of  a 
most  powerful  position  and  army  on  that  very  day.  And  not 
only  so,  but  in  a  succession  of  battles  in  Pennsylvania,  near 
to  us,  through  three  days,  so  rapidly  fought  that  they  might 
be  called  one  great  battle,  on  the  1st,  2d,  and  3d  of  the  month 
of  July,  and  on  the  4th  the  cohorts  of  those  who  opposed  the 
declaration  that  all  men  are  created  equal,  '  turned  tail'  and 
run.  Gentlemen,  this  is  a  glorious  theme,  and  the  occasion 
for  a  speech  ;  but  I  am  not  prepared  to  make  one  worthy  of 
the  occasion.  I  would  like  to  speak  in  terms  of  praise  due  to 
the  many  brave  officers  and  soldiers  who  have  fought  in  the 
cause  of  the  Union  and  liberties  of  their  country  from  the 
beginning  of  the  war.  These  are  trying  occasions,  not  only 
in  success,  but  for  the  want  of  success.  I  dislike  to  mention 
the  name  of  one  single  officer,  lest  I  might  do  wrong  to  those 
I  might  forget.  Recent  events  bring  up  glorious  names,  and 
particularly  prominent  ones ;  but  these  I  will  not  mention. 
Having  said  this  much,  I  will  now  take  the  music." 

The  following  letter,  addressed  to  General  Grant  after  the 
capture  of  Yicksburg,  gives  an  insight  into  the  transparent 
candor  and  frankness  hi  the  President : 


244  LIFE   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Letter  to  Gen.  Grant.  National  Thanksgiving, 

"Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  July  13th,  1863. 
"  Major-General  U,  S.  Grant — 3Iy  Dear  General :  I  do 
not  remember  that  you  and  I  ever  met  personally.  I  write 
this  now  as  a  grateful  acknowlednement  of  the  almost  ines- 
timable service  you  have  done  the  country.  I  write  to  say 
a  word  further.  When  you  first  reached  the  vicinity  of 
Yicksburg,  I  thought  you  should  do  what  you  finally  did — 
march  the  troops  across  the  neck,  run  the  batteries  with  the 
transports,  and  thus  go  below  ;  and  I  never  had  any  faith, 
except  a  general  hope  that  you  knew  better  than  I,  that  the 
Yazoo  Pass  expedition,  and  the  like,  could  succeed.  When 
you  got  below,  and  took  Port  Gibson,  Grand  Gulf,  and  vicin- 
ity, I  thought  you  should  go  down  the  river  and  join  General 
Banks,  and  when  you  turned  northward,  east  of  the  Big 
Black,  I  feared  it  was  a  mistake.  I  now  wish  to  make  the 
personal  acknowledgment,  that  you  were  right  and  I  was 
wrong.  "  Yours,  truly, 

"A.  Lincoln." 

The  following  was  issued  in  commemoration  of  the  victories 
at  Vicksburg,  Port  Hudson,  and  Gettysburg : 

"  By  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 
— A  Proclamation. — It  has  pleased  Almighty  God  to  hearken 
to  the  supplications  and  prayers  of  an  afflicted  people,  and  to 
vouchsafe  to  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States,  on  the 
land  and  on  the  sea,  victories  so  signal  and  so  effective  as  to 
furnish  reasonable  grounds  for  augmented  confidence  that  the 
Union  of  these  States  will  be  maintained,  their  Constitution 
preserved,  and  their  peace  and  prosperity  permanently 
secured  ;  but  these  victories  have  been  accorded,  not  without 
sacrifice  of  life,  limb,  and  liberty,  incurred  by  brave,  patriotic, 
and  loyal  citizens.  Domestic  affliction,  in  every  part  of  the 
country,  follows  in  the  train  of  these  fearful  bereavements. 
It  is  meet  and  right  to  recognize  and  confess  the  presence  of 
the  Almighty  Father,  and  the  power  of  his  hand  equally  in 
these  triumphs  and  these  sorrows. 


LETTERS   AND   SPEECHES.  245 

National  Thanksgiving.  Letter  to  Unconditional  Union  Men, 

'•  Now,  therefore,  be  it  known,  that  I  do  set  apart  Thurs- 
day, the  6th  day  of  August  next,  to  be  observed  as  a  day  for 
National  Thanksgiving,  praise,  and  prayer  ;  and  I  invite  the 
people  of  the  United  States  to  assemble  on  that  occasion  in 
their  customary  places  of  worship,  and  in  the  form  approved 
by  their  own  consciences,  render  the  homage  due  to  the 
Divine  Majesty,  for  the  wonderful  things  he  has  done  in  the 
Nation's  behalf,  and  invoke  the  influence  of  his  Holy  Spirit, 
to  subdue  the  anger  which  has  produced,  and  so  long  sus- 
tained, a  needless  and  cruel  rebellion  ;  to  change  the  hearts 
of  the  insurgents ;  to  guide  the  counsels  of  the  Government 
with  wisdom  adequate  to  so  great  a  National  emergency,  and 
to  visit  with  tender  care,  and  consolation,  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  our  land,  all  those  who,  through  the 
vicissitudes  of  marches,  voyages,  battles,  and  sieges,  have 
been  brought  to  suffer  in  mind,  body,  or  estate  ;  and  finally, 
to  lead  the  whole  nation  through  paths  of  repentance  and 
submission  to  the  Divine  will,  back  to  the  perfect  enjoyment 
of  union  and  fraternal  peace. 

"  In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  band,  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  fifteenth  day  of 
July,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty  three,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States 
of  America  the  eighty-eighth. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

The  following  letter,  written  in  August,  1863,  in  answer 
to  an  invitation  to  attend  a  meeting  of  unconditional  Union 
men  held  in  Illinois,  gives  at  length  the  President's  views 
at  that  timb  on  his  Emancipation  proclamation : 

"Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  August  26th,  1863. 
"  My  Dear  Sir  : — Your  letter  inviting  me  to  attend  a  mass 
meeting  of  unconditional  Union  men,  to  be  held  at  the  capital 


246  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Letter  to  Unconditional  Union  Men.  No  Compromise  Possible. 

of  Illinois  on  the  third  day  of  September,  has  been  received. 
It  would  be  very  agreeable  to  me  thus  to  meet  my  old  friends 
at  my  own  home  ;  but  I  cannot  just  now  be  absent  from  this 
city  so  long  as  a  visit  there  would  require.  The  meeting  is 
to  be  of  all  those  who  maintain  unconditional  devotion  to  the 
Union  ;  and  I  am  sure  that  my  old  political  friends  will  thank 
me  for  tendering,  as  I  do,  the  nation's  gratitude  to  those 
other  noble  men  whom  no  partisan  malice  or  partisan  hope 
can  make  false  to  the  nation's  life.  There  are  those  who  are 
dissatisfied  with  me.  To  such  I  would  say  : — You  desire 
peace,  and  you  blame  me  that  we  do  not  have  it.  But  how 
can  we  attain  it  ?  There  are  but  three  conceivable  ways : — 
First,  to  suppress  the  rebellion  by  force  of  arms.  This  I  am 
trying  to  do.  Are  you  for  it  ?  If  you  are,  so  far  we  are 
agreed.  If  you  are  not  for  it,  a  second  way  is  to  give  up  the 
Union.  I  am  against  this.  If  you  are,  you  should  say  so, 
plainly.  If  you  are  not  for  force,  nor  yet  for  dissolution,  there 
only  remains  some  imaginable  compromise.  I  do  not  believe 
that  any  compromise  embracing  the  maintenance  of  the  Union 
is  now  possible.  All  that  I  learn  leads  to  a  directly  opposite 
belief.  The  strength  of  the  rebellion  is  its  military — its 
army.  That  army  dominates  all  the  country  and  all  the 
people  within  its  range.  Any  oifer  of  any  terms  made  by 
any  man  or  men  within  that  range  in  opposition  to  that  army 
is  simply  nothing  for  the  present,  because  such  man  or  men 
have  no  power  whatever  to  enforce  their  side  of  a  com- 
promise, if  one  were  made  with  them.  To  illustrate  :  Sup- 
pose refugees  from  the  South  and  peace  men  of  the  North 
get  together  in  convention,  and  frame  and  proclaim  a  com- 
promise embracing  the  restoration  of  the  Union.  In  what 
way  can  that  compromise  be  used  to  keep  General  Lee's 
army  out  of  Pennsylvania  ?  General  Meade's  army  can  keep 
Lee's  army  out  of  Pennsylvania,  and  I  think  can  ultimately 
drive  it  out  of  existence.  But  no  paper  compromise  to  which 
the  controllers  of  General  Lee's  army  are  not  agreed,  can  at 


LETTERS   AND   SPEECHES.  247 

Letter  to  Union  Men.  The  Negro  Question.  Emancipation. 

all  affect  that  army.  In  an  effort  at  such  compromise  we 
would  waste  time  which  the  enemy  would  improve  to  our 
disadvantage,  and  that  would  be  all.  A  compromise,  to  be 
effective,  must  be  made  either  with  those  who  control  the 
rebel  army,  or  with  the  people,  first  liberated  from  the  domi- 
nation of  that  army  by  the  success  of  our  army.  Now,  allow 
me  to  assure  you  that  no  word  or  intimation  from  the  rebel 
army,  or  from  any  of  the  men  controlling  it,  in  relation  to  any 
peace  compromise,  has  ever  come  to  my  knowledge  or  belief. 
All  charges  and  intimations  to  the  contrary  are  deceptive  and 
groundless.  And  I  promise  you  that  if  any  such  propositions 
shall  hereafter  come,  it  shall  not  be  rejected  and  kept  secret 
from  you.  I  freely  acknowledge  myself  to  be  the  servant  of 
the  people,  according  to  the  bond  of  service,  the  United 
States  Constitution  ;  and  that,  as  such,  I  am  responsible  to 
them.  But,  to  be  plain.  You  are  dissatisfied  with  me  about 
the  negro.  Quite  likely  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion  be- 
tween you  and  myself  upon  that  subject.  I  certainly  wish 
that  all  men  could  be  free,  while  you,  I  suppose,  do  not.  Yet 
I  have  neither  adopted  nor  proposed  any  measure  which  is 
not  consistent  with  even  your  view,  provided  you  are  for  the 
Union.  I  suggested  compensated  emancipation,  to  which 
you  replied  that  you  wished  not  to  be  taxed  to  buy  negroes. 
But  I  have  not  asked  you  to  be  taxed  to  buy  negroes,  except 
in  such  way  as  to  save  you  from  greater  taxation,  to  save  the 
Union  exclusively  by  other  means. 

"  You  dislike  the  emancipation  proclamation,  and  perhaps 
would  have  it  retracted.  You  say  it  is  unconstitutional.  I 
think  differently,  I  think  that  the  Constitution  invests  its 
Commander-in-chief  with  the  law  of  war  in  time  of  war.  The 
most  that  can  be  said,  if  so  much,  is,  that  the  slaves  are 
property.  Is  there,  has  there  ever  been,  any  question  that 
by  the  law  of  war,  property,  both  of  enemies  and  friends,  may 
be  taken  when  needed  ?  And  is  it  not  needed  whenever 
taking  it  helps  us  or  hurts  the  enemy  ?     Armies,  the  world 


248  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Letter  to  Union  Men.  Military  Opinions 

over,  destroy  enemies'  property  when  they  cannot  use  it ;  and 
even  destroy  their  own  to  keep  it  from  the  enemy.  Civilized 
belligerents  do  all  in  their  power  to  help  themselves  or  hurt 
the  enemy,  except  a  few  things  regarded  as  barbarous  or 
cruel.  Among  the  exceptions  are  the  massacre  of  vanquished 
foes  and  non-combatants,  male  and  female.  But  the  pro- 
clamation, as  law,  is  valid  or  is  not  valid.  If  it  is  not  valid 
it  needs  no  restriction.  If  it  is  valid  it  cannot  be  retracted, 
any  more  than  the  dead  can  be  brought  to  life.  Some  of  you 
profess  to  think  that  its  retraction  would  operate  favorably  for 
the  Union.  Why  better  after  the  retraction  than  before  the 
issue  ?  There  was  more  than  a  year  and  a  half  of  trial  to 
suppress  the  rebellion  before  the  proclamation  was  issued,  the 
last  one  hundred  days  of  which  passed  under  an  explicit 
notice,  that  it  was  coming  unless  averted  by  those  in  revolt 
returning  to  their  allegiance.  The  war  has  certainly  pro- 
gressed as  favorably  for  us  since  the  issue  of  the  proclamation 
as  before.  I  know  as  fully  as  one  can  know  the  opinions  of 
others,  that  some  of  the  commanders  of  our  armies  in  the 
field,  who  have  given  us  our  most  important  victories,  believe 
the  emancipation  policy  and  the  aid  of  colored  troops  consti- 
tute the  heaviest  blows  yet  dealt  to  the  rebellion,  and  that  at 
least  one  of  those  important  successes  could  not  have  been 
achieved  when  it  was  but  for  the  aid  of  black  soldiers. 
Among  the  commanders  holding  these  views  are  some  who 
have  never  had  any  affinity  with  what  is  called  abolition- 
ism or  with  '  republican  party  politics,'  but  who  hold  them 
purely  as  military  opinions.  I  submit  their  opinions  as  being 
entitled  to  some  weight  against  the  objections  often  urged  that 
emancipation  and  arming  the  blacks  are  unwise  as  military 
measures,  and  were  not  adopted  as  such  in  good  faith.  You 
say  that  you  will  not  fight  to  free  negroes.  Some  of  them 
seem  to  be  willing  to  fight  for  you — but  no  matter.  Fight 
you,  then,  exclusively  to  save  the  Union.  I  issued  the  pro- 
clamation   on   purpose   to   aid   you   in   saving   the   Union. 


LETTERS   AND   SPEECHES,  249 

Letter  to  Union  Men.  The  Mississippi  Open. 

Whenever  you  shall  have   conquered  all   resistance  to  the 
Union,  if  I  shall  urge  you  to  continue  fighting,  it  will  be  an 
apt  time  then  for  you  to  declare  that  you  will  not  fight  to  free 
negroes.     I  thought  that  in  your  struggle  for  the  Union,  to 
whatever  extent  the  negroes  should  cease  helping  the  enemy, 
to  that  extent  it  weakened  the  enemy  in  his  resistance  to  you. 
Do  you  think  differently  ?     I  thought  that  whatever  negroes 
can  be  got  to  do  as  soldiers,  leaves  just  so  much  less  for  white 
soldiers  to  do  in  saving  the  Union.     Does  it  appear  otherwise 
to  you  ?     But  negroes,  like  other  people,  act  upon  motives. 
Why  should  they  do  any  thing  for  us  if  we  will  do  nothing 
for   them?     If    they  stake  their  lives  for  us  they  must  be 
prompted  by  the  strongest  motive,  even  the  promise  of  freedom. 
And  the  promise  being  made,  must  be  kept.       The  signs 
look  better.     The  Father  of  Waters  again  goes  unvexed  to 
the  sea.     Thanks  to  the  great  North-west  for  it.     Nor  yet 
wholly  to  them.     Three  hundred  miles  up  they  met  New 
England,  Empire,  Keystone,  and  Jersey,  hewing  their  way 
right  and  left.     The  Sunny  South,  too,  in  more  colors  than 
one,  also  lent  a  hand.     On  the  spot,  their  part  of  the  history 
was  jotted  down  in  black  and  white.     The  joy  was  a  great 
national  one,  and  let  none  be  banned  who  bore  an  honorable 
part  in  it ;  and,  while  those  who  have  cleared  the  great  river 
may  well  be  proud,  even  that  is  not  all.     It  is  hard  to  say 
that  any  thing  has  been  tnore  bravely  and  better  done  than  at 
Antietam,  Murfreesboro',  Gettysburg,  and  on  many  fields  of 
less  note.      Nor  must  Uncle  Sam's  web  feet  be  forgotten. 
At  all  the  waters'  margins  they  have  been  present — not  only 
on  the  deep  sea,  the  broad  bay,  and  the  rapid  river,  but  also 
up  the  narrow,  muddy  bayou  ;  and  wherever  the  ground  was 
a  little  damp  they  have  been  and  made  their  tracks.     Thanks 
to  all.     For  the  great  Republic — for  the  principles  by  which 
it  lives  and  keeps  alive — for  man's  vast  future — thanks  to  all. 
Peace  does  not  appear  so  far  distant  as  it  did.     I  hope  it  will 
come  soon,  and  come  to  stay  :  and  so  come  as  to  be  worth  the 


250  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Letter  to  Union  Men.  A  Sure  Peace.  Thanksgiving  Proclamation, 

keeping  in  all  future  time.  It  will  then  have  been  proved  that 
among  freemen  there  can  be  no  successful  appeal  from  the 
ballot  to  the  bullet,  and  that  they  who  take  such  appeal  are 
sure  to  lose  their  case  and  pay  the  cost.  And  then  there  will 
be  some  black  men  who  can  remember  that,  with  silent 
tongue,  and  clenched  teeth,  and  steady  eye,  and  well  poised 
bayonet,  they  have  helped  mankind  on  to  this  great  consum- 
mation ;  while  I  fear  that  there  will  be  some  white  men  un- 
able to  forget  that  with  malignant  heart  and  deceitful  speech 
they  have  striven  to  hinder  it.  Still  let  us  not  be  over  san- 
guine of  a  speedy  final  triumph.  Let  us  be  quite  sober.  Let 
us  diligently  apply  the  means,  never  doubting  that  a  just 
God,  in  his  own  good  time,  will  give  us  the  rightful  result. 
"  Yours  very  truly,  Abraham  Lincoln." 

Desirous  of  inaugurating  the  custom  of  setting  apart  each 
year  a  common  day  throughout  the  land  for  thanksgiving  and 
prayer,  Mr.  Lincoln  issued  the  following  : 

"By  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. — 
A  Proclamation  : — The  year  that  is  drawing  towards  its 
close  has  been  filled  with  the  blessings  of  fruitful  fields  and 
healthful  skies.  To  these  bounties,  which  are  so  constantly 
enjoyed  that  we  are  prone  to  forget  the  source  from  which 
they  come,  others  have  been  added  which  are  of  so  extraor- 
dinary a  nature  that  they  can  not  fail  to  even  penetrate  and 
soften  the  heart  which  is  habitually  insensible  to  the  ever 
watchful  providence  of  Almighty  God.  In  the  midst  of  a 
civil  war  of  unequalled  magnitude  and  severity,  which  has 
sometimes  seemed  to  invite  and  provoke  the  aggressions  of 
foreign  States,  peace  has  been  preserved  with  all  nations, 
order  has  been  maintained,  the  laws  have  been  respected  and 
obeyed,  and  harmony  has  prevailed  everywhere,  except  in 
the  theatre  of  military  conflict.  While  that  theatre  has  been 
greatly  contracted  by  the  advancing  armies  and  navies  of  the 
Union,  the  needful  diversion  of  wealth  and  strength  from  the 
fields  of  peaceful  industry  to  the  national  defence,  has  not 


LETTEKS   AND   SPEECHES.  251 

Thanksgiving  Proclamation.  Blessings  Enjoyed 

arrested  the  plow,  the  shuttle,  or  the  ship.  The  axe  has 
enlarged  the  borders  of  our  settlements,  and  the  mines,  as 
well  of  iron  and  coal  as  of  the  precious  metals,  have  yielded 
even  more  abundantly  than  heretofore.  Population  has 
steadily  increased,  notwithstanding  the  waste  that  has  been 
made  in  the  camp,  the  siege,  and  the  battle-field  ;  and  the 
country,  rejoicing  in  the  consciousness  of  augmented  strength 
and  vigor,  is  permitted  to  expect  a  continuance  of  years,  with 
a  large  increase  of  freedom.  No  human  counsel  hath  devised, 
nor  hath  any  mortal  hand  worked  out  these  great  things. 
They  are  the  gracious  gifts  of  the  Most  High  God,  who, 
while  dealing  with  us  in  anger  for  our  sins,  hath  nevertheless 
remembered  mercy. 

"  It  hath  seemed  to  me  fit  and  proper  that  they  should  be 
solemnly,  devoutly,  and  gratefully  acknowledged,  as  with  one 
heart  and  voice,  by  the  whole  American  people.  I  do,  there- 
fore, invite  my  fellow-citizens  in  every  part  of  the  United 
States,  and  also  those  who  are  at  sea,  and  those  who  are 
sojourning  in  foreign  lands,  to  set  apart  and  observe  the  last 
Thursday  of  November  next  as  a  day  of  thanksgiving  and 
prayer  to  our  beneficent  Father,  who  dwelleth  in  the  heavens. 
And  I  recommend  to  them  that,  while  offering  up  the  ascrip- 
tions justly  due  to  him  for  such  signal  deliverances  and  bless- 
ings, they  do  also,  with  humble  penitence  for  our  National 
perverseness  and  disobedience,  commend  to  his  tender  care 
all  those  who  have  become  widows,  orphans,  mourners,  or 
sufferers,  in  the  lamentable  civil  strife  in  which  we  are 
unavoidably  engaged,  and  fervently  implore  the  interposition 
of  the  Almighty  hand  to  heal  the  wounds  of  the  nation,  and 
to  restore  it,  as  soon  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  Divine 
purposes,  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  peace,  harmony,  tranquillity, 
and  union. 

"In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this,  the  third  day  of 


252  LIFE   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Address  at  Gettysburg.  The  Honored  Dead. 


October,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  sixty-three,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States 
the  eighty-eighth. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

On  the  19th  of  November,  1863,  President  Lincoln  delivered 
the  following  dedicatory  address  upon  the  occasion  of  conse- 
crating a  National  Cemetery  at  Gettysburg,  for  the  secure 
rest  of  those  brave  men  who  yielded  up  their  lives  in  behalf 
of  their  country  during  the  three  days'  battle  at  that  place  : 

"  Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought  forth 
upon  this  continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  Liberty,  and 
dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are  created  equal. 
Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war,  testing  whether 
that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  so  dedicated,  can 
long  endure.  We  are  met  on  a  great  battle-field  of  that  war. 
We  are  met  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  it  as  the  final  resting- 
place  of  those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that  that  nation 
might  live.  It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should 
do  this. 

"  But  in  a  larger  sense  we  can  not  dedicate,  we  can  not 
consecrate,  we  can  not  hallow  this  ground.  The  brave  men, 
living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here,  have  consecrated  it  far 
above  our  power  to  add  or  detract.  The  world  will  little 
note,  nor  long  remember  what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never 
forget  what  they  did  here.  It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather  to 
be  dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished  work  that  they  have  thus 
far  so  nobly  carried  on.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedi- 
cated to  the  great  task  remaining  before  us — that  from  these 
honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to  the  cause  for 
which  they  here  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion — that 
we  here  highly  resolve  that  the  dead  shall  not  have  died  in 
vain,  that  the  nation  shall,  under  God,  have  a  new  birth  of 
freedom,  and  that  the  government  of  the  people,  by  the 
people,  and  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth." 


THE   THIRTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS.  253 

Organization  of  the  House.  Different  Opinions  as  to  Keconstniction. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  THIRTY-EIGHTH  CONGRESS. 

Organization  of  the  House — Different  Opinions  as  to  Reconstruction — ProTisions  for  Par- 
don of  Rebels — President's  Proclamation  of  Pardon — Annual  Message — Explanatory 
Proclamation. 

Upon  the  assembling  of  the  Thirty-eighth  Congress,  De- 
cember Tth,  1863 — that  Congress,  in  the  lower  branch  of 
which  the  Opposition  had  counted  upon  a  majority — the  sup- 
porters of  the  Government  found  no  difficulty  in  electing  their 
candidates  for  Speaker  by  a  majority  of  twenty,  nor  a  radical 
anti-slavery  man  as  Chaplain,  albeit  against  the  latter  was 
offered  as  candidate  an  Episcopalian  Bishop,  nameless  here, 
who  had  had  the  effrontery  since  the  outbreak  of  the  war  to 
appear  before  the  public  as  a  defender  of  the  institution  upon 
Christian  principles. 

With  the  success  of  our  arms — movements  toward  an  organ- 
ization of  the  local  governments  in  the  States  of  Tennessee, 
Louisiana,  and  Arkansas  being  in  progress — the  difficult 
question  as  to  the  principles  upon  which  such  reorganization 
should  be  effected  presented  itself  for  settlement. 

Some  took  the  ground  that,  by  virtue  of  their  rebellion,  the 
disloyal  States  had  lapsed  into  mere  territorial  organizations, 
and  should  remain  in  that  condition  until  again  admitted  into 
the  Union. 

Others  contended  that  this  would  be,  in  effect,  to  recognize 
secession,  and  maintained  that,  whatever  might  have  been  the 
acts  of  the  inhabitants  of  any  State,  the  State  as  such  still 
constituted  an  integral  member  of  the  Union,  entitled  to  all 
privileges  as  such,  whenever  a  sufficient  number  of  loyal 
citizens  chose  to  exercise  the  right  of  suffrage — the  General 


254  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Different  Opinions  as  to  Reconstruction.  Proclamation  of  Pardon. 

Government  seeing  to  it,  as  was  its  duty  under  the  Con- 
stitution, that  a  republican  form  was  guarantied.  As  to 
what  number  of  loyal  inhabitants  should  suffice,  opinions 
differed. 

Congress  had  provided,  by  an  act  approved  July  IT,  1862  : 
That  the  President  is  hereby  authorized,  at  any  time  here- 
after, by  proclamation,  to  extend  to  persons  who  may  have 
participated  in  the  existing  rebellion  in  any  State  or  part 
thereof,  pardon  and  amnesty,  with  such  exceptions,  and  at 
such  time,  and  on  such  conditions,  as  he  may  deem  expedient 
for  the  public  welfare. 

In  accordance  with  this  authority,  the  following  proclama- 
tion was  issued  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  by  which  it  appeared  he  held 
himself  pledged,  before  the  world  and  to  the  persons  immedi- 
ately affected  by  it,  to  make  an  adherence  to  the  policy  of 
emancipation,  inaugurated  by  him,  a  condition  precedent  to 
any  act  of  clemency  to  be  exercised  by  himself: 

"■Whereas,  In  and  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  it  is  provided  that  the  President  'shall  have  power  to 
grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offences  against  the  United 
States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment;'  and  whereas,  a  re- 
bellion now  exists  whereby  the  loyal  State  Governments  of 
several  States  have  for  a  long  time  been  subverted,  and  many 
persons  have  committed  and  are  now  guilty  of  treason  against 
the  United  States ;  and  whereas,  with  reference  to  said  rebel- 
lion and  treason,  laws  have  been  enacted  by  Congress  de- 
claring forfeitures  and  confiscation  of  property  and  liberation 
of  slaves,  all  upon  terms  and  conditions  therein  stated ;  and 
also  declaring  that  the  President  was  thereby  authorized  at 
any  time  thereafter,  by  proclamation,  to  extend  to  persons 
who  may  have  participated  in  the  existing  rebellion,  in  any 
State  or  part  thereof,  pardon  and  amnesty,  with  such  excep- 
tions and  at  such  times  and  on  such  conditions  as  he  may 
deem  expedient  for  the  public  welfare  ;   and  whereas,  the 


THE   THIETY-EIGHTH   CONGRESS.  255 

Proclamtitioa  of  Pardon.  The  Oath.  Persons  Excepted. 

Congressional  declaration  for  limited  and  conditional  pardon 
accords  with  well-established  judicial  exposition  of  the  par- 
doning power  ;  and  whereas,  with  reference  to  said  rebellion, 
the  President  of  the  United  States  has  issued  several  procla- 
mations, with  provisions  in  regard  to  the  liberation  of  slaves ; 
and  whereas,  it  is  now  desired  by  some  persons  heretofore 
engaged  in  said  rebellion,  to  resume  their  allegiance  to  tne 
United  States,  and  to  reinaugurate  loyal  State  Governments 
within  and  for  their  respective  States  ;  therefore, 

"  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States,  do 
proclaim,  declare,  and  make  known  to  all  persons  who  have, 
directly  or  by  implication,  participated  in  the  existing  rebel- 
lion, except  as  hereinafter  excepted,  that  a  full  pardon  is 
hereby  granted  to  them  and  each  of  them,  with  restoration  of 
all  i-ights  of  property,  except  as  to  slaves,  and  in  property 
cases  where  rights  of  third  parties  shall  have  intervened,  and 
upon  the  condition  that  every  such  person  shall  take  and 
subscribe  an  oath,  and  thenceforward  keep  and  maintain  said 
eath  inviolate  ;  and  which  oath  shall  be  registered  for  per- 
manent preservation,  and  shall  be  of  the  tenor  and  effect 
following,  to-wit : 

"  *  I, ,  do  solemnly  swear,  in  presence  of  Almighty 

God,  that  I  will  henceforth  faithfully  support,  protect  and 
defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  the  Union 
of  the  States  thereunder ;  and  that  I  will,  in  like  manner, 
abide  by  and  faithfully  support  all  acts  of  Congress  passed 
during  the  existing  rebellion  with  reference  to  slaves,  so  long 
and  so  far  as  not  repealed,  modified,  or  held  void  by  Congress, 
or  by  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court;  and  that  I  will,  in  like 
manner,  abide  by  and  faithfully  suppoi't  all  proclamaiions  of 
the  President  made  during  the  existing  rebellion  having 
reference  to  slaves,  so  long  and  so  far  as  not  modified  or 
declared  void  by  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court.  So  help  me 
God.' 

"  The  persons  excepted  from  the  benefits  of  the  foregoing 


256  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Proclamation  of  Pardon.  Peisons  Excepted.  Reconstruction. 

provisions  are  all  who  are,  or  shall  have  been,  civil  or  diplo- 
matic officers  or  agents  of  the  so-called  Confederate  Govern- 
ment :  all  who  have  left  judicial  stations  under  the  United 
States  to  aid  the  rebellion ;  all  who  are,  or  shall  have  been, 
military  or  naval  officers  of  the  said  so-called  Confederate 
Government,  above  the  rank  of  colonel  in  the  army,  or  of  lieu 
tenant  in  the  navy ;  all  who  left  seats  in  the  United  States 
Congress  to  aid  the  rebellion  ;  all  who  resigned  commissions 
m  the  Army  or  Navy  of  the  United  States,  and  afterward 
aided  the  rebellion ;  and  all  who  have  engaged  in  any  way  in 
treating  colored  persons,  or  white  persons  in  charge  of  such, 
otherwise  than  lawfully  as  prisoners  of  war,  and  which 
persons  may  have  been  found  in  the  United  States  service  as 
soldiers,  seamen,  or  in  any  other  capacity. 

"And  I  do  further  proclaim,  declare,  and  make  known,  that 
whenever,  in  any  of  the  States  of  Arkansas,  Texas,  Louisiana, 
Mississippi,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  Georgia,  Florida,  South 
Carolina,  and  North  Carolina,  a  number  of  persons,  not  less 
than  one-tenth  in  number  of  the  votes  cast  in  such  State  at 
the  Presidential  election  of  the  year  of  our  Lord  1860,  each 
having  taken  the  oath  aforesaid,  and  not  having  since  violated 
it,  and  being  a  qualified  voter  by  the  election  law  of  the  State 
existing  immediately  before  the  so-called  act  of  secession,  and 
excluding  all  others,  shall  re-establish  a  State  Government 
which  shall  be  republican,  and  in  nowise  contravening  said 
oath,  such  shall  be  recognized  as  the  true  Government  of  the 
State,  and  the  State  shall  receive  thereunder  the  benefits  of 
the  constitutional  provision  which  declares  that  '  the  United 
States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this  Union  a  repub- 
lican form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them 
against  invasion  ;  and  on  application  of  the  Legislature,  or 
the  Executive,  (when  the  Legislature  cannot  be  convened,) 
against  domestic  violence.' 

"And  I  do  further  proclaim,  declare,  and  make  known  that 
any  provision  which  may  be  adopted  by  such  State  Govern- 


THE   THIRTY- EIGHTH   CONGRESS,  257 

President's  Proclamation.  Recon^ruction.  Suggestions. 

meat  in  relation  to  the  freed  people  of  such  State,  which  ?hall 
recognize  and  declare  their  permanent  freedom,  provide  for 
their  education,  and  which  may  yet  be  consistent,  as  a 
temporary  arrangement,  with  their  present  condition  as  a 
laboi'ing,  landless,  and  homeless  class,  will  not  be  objected  to 
by  the  National  Executive.  And  it  is  suggested  as  not  im- 
proper, that,  in  constructing  a  loyal  State  Government  in  any 
State,  the  name  of  the  State,  the  boundary,  the  subdivisions, 
.the  Constitution,  and  the  general  code  of  laws,  as  before  the 
rebellion,  be  maintained,  subject  only  to  the  modifications 
made  necessary  by  the  conditions  hei'einbefore  stated,  and 
such  others,  if  any,  not  contravening  said  conditions,  and 
which  may  be  deemed  expedient  by  those  framing  the  new 
State  Government. 

"  To  avoid  misunderstanding,  it  may  be  proper  to  say  that 
this  proclamation,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  State  Governments, 
has  no  reference  to  States  wherein  loyal  State  Governments 
have  all  the  while  been  maintained.  And  for  the  same  reason, 
it  may  be  proper  to  further  say  that  whether  members  sent  to 
Congress  from  any  State  shall  be  admitted  to  seats  constitu- 
tionally, rests  exclusively  with  the  respective  Houses,  and 
not  to  any  extent  with  the  Executive.  And  still  further,  that 
this  proclamation  is  intended  to  present  the  people  of  the 
States  wherein  the  National  authority  has  been  suspended, 
and  loyal  State  Governments  have  been  subverted,  a  mode  in 
and  by  which  the  National  authority  and  loyal  State  Govern- 
ments may  be  re-established  within  said  States,  or  in  any  of 
them  ;  and,  while  the  mode  presented  is  the  best  the  Execu- 
tive can  suggest,  with  his  present  impressions,  it  must  not  be 
understood  that  no  other  possible  mode  would  be  acceptable. 

"  Given  under  my  hand  at  the  city  of  Washington,  the  eighth 
day  of  December,  A.  D.  1863,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States  of  America  the  eighty-eighth. 

"Abraham  Lincoln  " 
17 


258  LIFE   OF    ABEAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Annual  Message.  African  Slave  Trade.  Eights  cif  Foreigners, 

The  Annual  Message  sent  in  to  Congress  on  the  9th  day 
of  December,  omitting  matters  of  but  temporary  interest — is 
as  follows : 

"  Fellow- Citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  op  Repre- 
sentatives : — Another  year  of  health  and  sufficiently  abun- 
dant harvests,  has  passed.  For  these,  and  especially  for  the 
improved  condition  of  our  National  affairs,  our  renewed  and 
profoundest  gratitude  to  God  is  due. 

"  We  remain  in  peace  and  friendship  with  foreign  powers. 

"  The  efforts  of  disloyal  citizens  of  the  United  States  to 
involve  us  in  foreign  wars,  to  aid  an  inexcusable  insurrection, 
have  been  unavailing.  Her  Britannic  Majesty's  Government, 
as  was  justly  expected,  have  exercised  their  authority  to  pre- 
vent the  departure  of  new  hostile  expeditions  from  British 
ports.  The  Emperor  of  France  has,  by  a  like  proceeding, 
promptly  vindicated  the  neutrality  which  he  proclaimed  at 
the  beginning  of  the  contest.  Questions  of  great  intricacy 
and  importance  have  arisen,  out  of  the  blockade  and  other 
belligerent  operations,  between  the  Government  and  several 
of  the  maritime  powers,  but  they  have  been  discussed,  and, 
as  far  as  was  possible,  accommodated  in  a  spirit  of  frankness, 
justice,  and  mutual  good  will.  It  is  especially  gratifying 
that  our  prize  courts,  by  the  impartiality  of  their  adjudica- 
tions, have  commanded  the  respect  and  confidence  of  mari- 
time powers. 

"  The  supplementary  treaty  between  the  TJnited  States  and 
Great  Britain  for  the  suppression  of  the  African  slave  trade, 
made  on  the  11th  of  February  last,  has  been  duly  ratified, 
and  carried  into  execution.  It  is  believed  that,  so  far  as 
American  ports  and  American  citizens  are  concerned,  that 
inhuman  and  odious  traffic  has  been  brought  to  an  end.    .   .   . 

"  Incidents  occurring  in  the  progress  of  our  civil  war  have 
forced  upon  my  attention  the  uncertain  state  of  international 
questions  touching  the  rights  of  foi'eigners  in  this  country 
and  of  TJnited  States  citizens  abroad.     In  regard  to  some 


THE    THIRTY-EIGHTH   COXGRESS.  259 

Annual  Message.  lUglits  of  Foreigners. 

Governments,  these  rights  are  at  least  partially  defined 
by  treaties.  lu  no  instance,  however,  is  it  expressly  stipu- 
lated that,  in  the  event  of  civil  law,  a  foreigner  residing 
in  this  country,  within  the  lines  of  the  insurgents,  is  to 
be  exempted  from  the  rule  which  classes  him  as  a  belligerent, 
in  whose  behalf  the  Government  of  his  country  can  not 
expect  any  privileges  or  immunities  distinct  from  that 
character.  I  regret  to  say,  however,  that  such  claims  have 
been  put  forward,  and,  in  some  instances,  in  behalf  of 
foreigners  who  have  lived  in  the  United  States  the  greater 
part  of  their  lives. 

"  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  many  persons  born 
in  foreign  countries,  who  have  declared  their  intention  to 
become  citizen^,  or  who  have  been  fully  naturalized,  have 
evaded  the  military  duty  required  of  them  by  denying  the 
fact,  and  thereby  throwing  upon  the  Government  the  burden 
of  proof.  It  has  been  found  difficult  or  impracticable  to 
obtain  this  proof,  from  the  want  of  guides  to  the  proper 
sources  of  information.  These  might  be  supplied  by  requir- 
ing clerks  of  courts,  where  declarations  of  intention  may  be 
made  or  naturalizations  effected,  to  send,  periodically,  lists  of 
the  names  of  the  persons  naturalized,  or  declaring  their  inten- 
tion to  become  citizens,  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  in 
whose  Department  those  names  might  be  arranged  and 
printed  for  general  information. 

"  There  is  also  reason  to  believe  that  foreigners  frequently 
become  citizens  of  the  United  States  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
evading  duties  imposed  by  the  laws  of  their  native  countries, 
to  which,  on  becoming  naturalized  here,  they  at  once  repair, 
and,  though  never  returning  to  the  United  States,  they 
still  claim  the  interposition  of  this  Government  as  citizens. 
Many  altercations  and  great  prejudices  have  heretofore  arisen 
out  of  this  abuse.  It  is,  therefore,  submitted  to  your  serious 
consideration.     It  might  be  advisable  to  fix  a  limit,  beyond 


260  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LIXCOLN. 

Annual  Message.  Couditiou  of  the  Territories.  Immigration. 

which  no  citizen  of  the  United  States  residing  abroad 
may  claim  the  interposition  of  his  Government. 

"The  right  of  suffrage  has  often  been  assumed  and  exer- 
cised by  aliens,  under  pretences  of  naturalization,  which  they 
have  disavowed  when  drafted  into  the  military  service. 
I  submit  the  expediency  of  such  an  amendment  of  the  law  as 
will  make  the  fact  of  voting  an  estoppel  against  any  plea  of 
exemption  from  military  service,  or  other  civil  obligation,  on 
the  ground  of  alienage 

"The  condition  of  the  several  organized  Territories  is 
generally  satisfactory,  although  Indian  disturbances  in  New 
Mexico  have  not  been  entirely  suppressed.  The  mineral 
resources  of  Colorado,  Nevada,  Idaho,  New  Mexico,  and 
Arizona,  are  proving  far  richer  than  has  been  heretofore 
understood.  I  lay  before  you  a  communication  on  this  sub- 
ject from  the  Governor  of  New  Mexico.  I  again  submit  to 
your  consideration  the  expediency  of  establishing  a  system 
for  the  encouragement  of  immigration.  Although  this  source 
of  national  wealth  and  strength  is  again  flowing  with  greater 
freedom  than  for  several  years  before  the  insurrection  occurred, 
there  is  still  a  great  deficiency  of  laborers  in  every  field  of 
industry,  especially  in  agriculture  and  in  our  mines,  as  well 
of  iron  and  coal  as  of  the  precious  metals.  While  the 
demand  for  labor  is  thus  increased  here,  tens  of  thousands  of 
persons,  destitute  of  remunerative  occupation,  are  thronging 
our  foreign  consulates,  and  offering  to  emigrate  to  -the 
United  States  if  essential,  but  very  cheap,  assistance  can  be 
afforded  them.  It  is  easy  to  see  that,  under  the  sharp  dis- 
cipline of  civil  war,  the  nation  is  beginning  a  new  life.  This 
noble  effort  demands  the  aid,  and  ought  to  receive  the  atten- 
tion and  support,  of  the  Government. 

"  Injuries,  unforeseen  by  the  Government  and  unintended, 
may,  in  some  cases,  have  been  inflicted  on  the  subjects 
or  citizens   of  foreign  countries,  both   at  sea  and  on  land, 


THE    THIRTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS.  261 

Annual  Message.  Justice  to  Foi-eiguers.  Incomes  of  Consuls. 

bj  persons  in  the  service  of  the  United  States.  As  this 
Government  expects  redress  from  other  povi^ers  when  similar 
injuries  are  inflicted  by  persons  in  their  service  upon  citizens 
of  the  IJnited  States,  we  must  be  prepared  to  do  justice 
to  foreigners.  If  the  existing  judicial  tribunals  are  inade- 
quate to  this  purpose,  a  special  court  may  be  authorized,  with 
power  to  hear  and  decide  such  claims  of  the  character 
referred  to  as  may  have  arisen  under  treaties  and  the  public 
law.  Conventions  for  adjusting  the  claims  by  joint  commis- 
sion, have  been  proposed  to  some  Governments,  but  no  defi- 
nite answer  to  the  propositions  has  yet  been  received  from 
any. 

"  In  the  course  of  the  session,  I  shall  probably  have  occa- 
sion to  request  you  to  provide  indemnification  to  claimants 
where  decrees  of  restitution  have  been  rendered,  and  damages 
awarded  by  admiralty  courts,  and  in  other  cases,  where  this 
Government  may  be  acknowledged  to  be  liable  in  principle, 
and  where  the  amount  of  that  liability  has  been  ascertained 
bv  an  informal  arbitration. 

"  The  proper  officers  of  the  Treasury  have  deemed  them- 
selves required,  by  the  law  of  the  United  States  upon  the 
subject,  to  demand  a  tax  upon  the  incomes  of  foreign  consuls 
in  this  country.  While  such  demand  may  not,  in  strictness, 
be  in  derogation  of  public  law,  or  perhaps  of  any  existing 
treaty  between  the  United  States  and  a  foreign  country,  the 
expediency  of  so  far  modifying  the  act  as  to  exempt  from  tax 
the  income  of  such  consuls  as  are  not  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  derived  from  the  emoluments  of  their  ofiSce,  or  from 
property  not  situated  in  the  United  States,  is  submitted 
to  your  serious  consideration.  I  make  this  suggestion  upon 
the  ground  that  a  comity  which  ought  to  be  reciprocated 
exempts  our  consuls,  in  all  other  countries,  from  taxation  to 
the  extent  thus  indicated.  The  United  States,  I  think,  ought 
not  to  be  exceptionably  illiberal  to  international  trade  and 
commerce. 


262  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Annua'  Message.  Operations  of  the  Treasury.  Receipts  and  Expenditures. 

"  The  operations  of  the  Treasury  during  the  last  year  have 
been  successfully  conducted.  The  enactment  by  Congress  of 
a  National  Banking  Law  has  proved  a  valuable  support 
of  the  public  credit ;  and  the  general  legislation  in  relation  to 
loans  has  fully  answered  the  expectations  of  its  favorers. 
Some  amendments  may  be  required  to  perfect  existing  laws  ; 
but  no  change  in  their  principles  or  general  scope  is  believed 
to  be  needed. 

"  Since  these  measures  have  been  in  operation,  all  demands 
on  the  Treasury,  including  the  pay  of  the  Army  and  Navy, 
have  been  promptly  met  and  fully  satisfied.  ,.  No  considerable 
body  of  troops,  it  is  believed,  were  ever  more  amply  pro- 
vided and  more  liberally  and  punctually  paid  ;  and  it  may  be 
added  that  by  no  people  were  the  burdens  incident  to  a  great 
war  ever  more  cheerfully  borne. 

"  The  receipts  during  the  year  fi*om  all  sources,  including 
loans  and  the  balance  in  the  Treasury  at  its  commencement, 
were  $901,125,674  86,  and  the  aggregate  disbursements, 
$895,T96,630  65,  leaving  a  balance  on  the  1st  of  July,  1863, 
of  $5,329,044  21.  Of  the  receipts  there  were  derived 
-rom  customs,  $69,059,642  40;  from  internal  revenue, 
$37,640,787  95;  from  direct  tax,  $1,485,103  61;  from  lands, 
$167,617  17;  from  miscellaneous  sources,  $3,046,615  35; 
and  from  loans,  $776,682,361  57;  making  the  aggregate, 
$901,125,674  86.  Of  the  disbursements,  there  were,  for  the 
civil  service,  $23,253,922  08;  for  pensions  and  Indians, 
$4,216,520  79  ;  for  interest  on  public  debt,  $24,729,846  51 ; 
for  the  War  Department,  $599,298,600  83;  for  the  Navy 
Department,  $63,211,105  27;  for  payment  of  funded  and 
temporary  debt,  $181,086,635  07  ;  making  the  aggregate, 
$895,796,630  65;  and  leaving  the  balance  of  $5,329,044  21. 
But  the  payment  of  funded  and  temporary  debt,  having  been 
made  from  moneys  borrowed  during  the  year,  must  be 
regarded  as  merely  nominal  payments,  and  the  moneys 
borrowed   to  make  them  as  merely  nominal  receipts ;    and 


THE   THIRTY-EIGHTH   CONGEESS.  263 

Annual  Message.  Receipts  and  Expenditures.  Report  of  the  Secvetary  of  War. 

their  amouat,  $181,086,635  01,  should  therefore  be  deducted 
both  from  receipts  and  disbursements.  This  being  done, 
there  remain  as  actual  receipts,  $720,039,039  Y9  ;  and  the 
actual  disbursements,  $714,709,995  58,  leaving  the  balance 
as  already  stated. 

"The  actual  receipts  and  disbursements  for  the  first  quarter, 
and  the  estimated  receipts  and  disbursements  for  the  remain- 
ing three  quarters,  of  the  curreat  fiscal  year  1864,  will 
be  shown  in  detail  by  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  to  which  I  invite  your  attention.  It  is  sufficient  to 
say  here  that  it  is  not  believed  that  actual  results  will  exhibit 
a  state  of  the  finances  less  favorable  to  the  country  than  the 
estimates  of  that  officer  heretofore  submitted  ;  while  it  is 
confidently  expected  that  at  the  close  of  the  year  both  dis- 
bursements and  debt  will  be  found  very  considerably  less 
than  has  been  anticipated. 

"The  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War  is  a  document  of 
great  interest.     It  consists  of — 

"  1.  The  military  operations  of  the  year,  detailed  in  the 
report  of  the  General-in-Chief. 

"  2.  The  organization  of  colored  persons  into  the  war 
service. 

"  3.  The  exchange  of  prisoners,  fully  set  forth  in  the  letter 
of  General  Hitchcock. 

"  4.  The  operations  under  the  act  for  enrolling  and  calling 
out  the  National  forces,  detailed  in  the  report  of  the  Provost 
Marshal  General. 

"  5.  The  organization  of  the  Invalid  Corps  ;  and, 

"  6.  The  operation  of  the  several  departments  of  the  Quar- 
termaster General,  Commissary  General,  Paymaster  General, 
Chief  of  Engineers,  Chief  of  Ordnance,  and  Surgeon  Gen- 
eral. 

"  It  has  appeared  impossible  to  make  a  valuable  summary 
of  this  report,  except  such  as  would  be  too  extended  for  this 


26i  LIFE    OF   ABEAHAM    LIISCOLN. 

Annual  Message.  Efficiency  of  the  Blockade.  The  Naval  Force. 

place,  and  hence    I  content   myself  by  asking  your  careful 
attention  to  the  report  itself. 

"  The  duties  devolving  on  the  Naval  branch  of  the  service 
during  the  year,  and  throughout  the  whole' of  this  unhappy 
contest,  have  been  discharged  with  fidelity  and  eminent  suc- 
cess. The  extensive  blockade  has  been  constantly  increasing 
in  efficiency,  and  the  Navy  has  expanded  ;  yet  on  so  long  a 
line  it  has  so  far  been  impossible  to  entirely  suppress  illicit 
trade.  From  returns  received  at  the  Navy  Department,  it 
appears  that  more  than  one  thousand  vessels  have  been  cap- 
tured since  the  blockade  was  instituted,  and  that  the  value  of 
prizes  already  sent  in  for  adjudication,  amounts  to  over  thirteen 
million  dollars. 

"  The  naval  force  of  the  United  States  consists,  at  this  time, 
of  five  hundred  and  eighty-eight  vessels,  completed  and  in  the 
course  of  completion,  and  of  these  seventy-five  are  iron-clad  or 
armored  steamers.  The  events  of  the  war  give  an  increased 
interest  and  importance  to  the  Navy,  which  will  probably  ex- 
tend beyond  the  war  itself. 

"  The  armored  vessels  in  our  Navy,  completed  and  in  ser- 
vice, or  which  are  under  contract  and  approaching  completion, 
are  believed  to  exceed  in  number  those  of  any  other  Power. 
But  while  these  may  be  relied  upon  for  harbor  defence  and 
coast  service,  others,  of  greater  strength  and  capacity,  will  be 
necessary  for  cruising  purposes,  and  to  maintain  our  rightful 
position  on  the  ocean. 

"  The  change  that  has  taken  place  in  naval  vessels  and 
naval  warfare  since  the  introduction  of  steam  as  a  motive 
power  for  ships-of-war,  demands  either  a  corresponding 
change  in  some  of  our  existing  navy-yards,  or  the  establish- 
ment of  new  ones,  for  the  construction  and  necessary  repairs 
of  modern  naval  vessels.  No  inconsiderable  embarrassment, 
delay,  and  public  injury  hjive  been  experienced  from  the  want 
of  such  Governmental  establishments.  The  necessity  of  such 
a  navy-yard,  so  furnished,  at  some  suitable  place  upon  the 


THE   THIRTY-EIGHTH   CONGRESS.  26-^ 

A.'.\\  uat  Message.  The  Navy.  Seameu; 

Atlantic  seaboard,  has,  on  repeated  occasions,  been  brought 
to  the  attention  of  Congress  by  the  Navy  Department,  and  is 
again  presented  in  the  report  of  the  Secretary  which  accom- 
panies this  communication.  I  think  it  my  duty  to  invite  your 
special  attention  to  this  subject,  and  also  to  that  of  establishing 
a  yard  and  depot  for  naval  purp.oses  upon  one  of  the  Western 
rivers.  A  naval  force  has  been  created  on  those  interior 
waters,  and  under  many  disadvantages,  within  little  more  than 
two  years,  exceeding  in  numbers  the  whole  naval  force  of  the 
country  at  the  commencement  of  the  present  Administration. 
Satisfactory  and  important  as  have  been  the  performances  of 
the  heroic  men  of  the  Navy  at  this  interesting  period,  they  are 
scarcely  more  wonderful  than  the  success  of  our  mechanics 
and  artisans  in  the  production  of  war  vessels,  which  has 
created  a  new  form  of  naval  power. 

"  Our  country  has  advantages  superior  to  any  other  nation 
in  our  resources  of  iron  and  timber,  with  inexhaustible  quan- 
tities of  fuel  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  both,  and  all  avail- 
able and  in  close  proximity  to  navigable  waters.  Without 
the  advantage  of  public  works,  the  resources  of  the  nation 
have  been  developed,  and  its  power  displayed,  in  the  con- 
struction of  a  navy  of  such  magnitude,  which  has,  at 
the  very  period  of  its  creation,  rendered  signal  service  to  the 
Union. 

"  The  increase  of  the  number  of  seamen  in  the  public  ser- 
vice, from  seven  thousand  five  hundred  men  in  the  spring  of 
1861,  to  about  thirty-four  thousand  at  the  present  time,  has 
been  accomplished  without  special  legislation  or  extraordinary 
bounties  to  promote  that  increase.  It  has  been  found,  how- 
ever, that  the  operation  of  the  draft,  with  the  high  bounties 
paid  for  army  recruits,  is  beginning  to  affect  injuriously  the 
naval  service,  and  will,  if  not  corrected,  be  likely  to  impair  its 
efficiency,  by  detaching  seamen  from  their  proper  vocation 
and  inducing  them  to  enter  the  army.  I  therefore  respect- 
fully suggest  that  Congress  might  aid  both  the  army  and 


266  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Annual  Message.  The  Navy.  Post  OfBce  Department 

naval  services  by  a  definite  provision  on  this  subject,  which 
would  at  the  same  time  be  equitable  to  the  communities  more 
especially  interested. 

"  I  commend  to  your  consideration  the  suggestions  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  regard  to  the  policy  of  fostering  and 
training  seamen,  and  also  the  education  of  officers  and  engi- 
neers for  the  naval  service.  The  Naval  Academy  is  render- 
ing signal  service  in  preparing  midshipmen  for  the  highly  re- 
sponsible duties  which  in  after-life  they  will  be  required  to 
perform.  In  order  that  the  country  should  not  be  deprived 
of  the  proper  quota  of  educated  officers  for  which  legal  pro- 
vision has  been  made  at  the  Naval  School,  the  vacancies 
caused  by  the  neglect  or  omission  to  make  nominations  from 
the  States  in  insurrection  have  been  filled  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy.  The  school  is  now  more  full  and  complete  than  at 
any  former  period,  and  in  every  respect  entitled  to  the  favor- 
able consideration  of  Congress. 

"  During  the  past  fiscal  year  the  financial  condition  of  the 
Post  Office  Department  has  been  one  of  increasing  prosperity, 
and  I  am  gratified  in  being  able  to  state  that  the  actual  postal 
I'evenue  has  nearly  equaled  the  entire  expenditures ;  the 
latter  amounting  to  $11,314,20G  84,  and  the  former  to 
$11,163,189  59,  leaving  a  deficiency  of  but  $150,411  25.  In 
1860,  the  year  immediately  preceding  the  rebellion,  the  de- 
ficiency amounted  to  $5,656,105  49,  the  postal  receipts  of 
that  year  being  $2,645,122  19  less  than  those  of  1863.  The 
decrease  since  1860  in  the  annual  amount  of  transportation 
has  been  only  about  twenty-five  per  cent.,  but  the  annual  ex- 
penditure on  account  of  the  same  has  been  reduced  thirty-five 
per  cent.  It  is  manifest,  therefore,  that  the  Post  Office 
Department  may  become  self-sustaining  in  a  few  years,  even 
with  the  restoration  of  the  whole  service, 

"  The  quantity  of  land  disposed  of  during  the  last  and  the 
first  quarter  of  the  present  fiscal  years  was  3,841,549  acres, 
of  which  161,911  acres  were  sold  for  cash,  1,456,514  acres 


THE   THIRTY-EIGHTH   CONGRESS.  267 

Annual  Message.  The  Public  Lands.  The  Indian  Tribes. 

were  taken  np  under  the  homestead  law,  and  the  residue  dis- 
posed of  under  laws  granting  lands  for  military  bounties,  for 
railroad  and  other  purposes.  It  also  appears  that  the  sale  of 
public  lands  is  largely  on  the  increase. 

"  It  has  long  been  a  cherished  opinion  of  some  of  our  wisest 
statesmen  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  had  a  higher 
and  more  enduring  interest  in  the  early  settlement  and  sul)- 
stantial  cultivation  of  the  public  lands  than  in  the  amount  of 
direct  revenue  to  be  derived  from  the  sale  of  them.  This 
opinion  has  had  a  controlling  influence  in  shaping  legislation 
upon  the  subject  of  our  National  domain.  I  may  cite,  as 
evidence  of  this,  the  liberal  measures  adopted  in  reference  to 
actual  settlers  ;  the  grants  to  the  States  of  the  overflowed 
lands  within  their  limits  ;  in  order  to  their  being  reclaimed 
and  rendered  fit  for  cultivation  ;  the  grants  to  railway  com- 
panies of  alternate  sections  of  land  upon  the  contemplated 
lines  of  their  roads,  which,  when  completed,  will  so  largely 
multiply  the  facilities  for  reaching  our  distant  possessions. 
This  policy  has  received  its  most  signal  and  beneficent  illus- 
tration in  the  recent  enactment  granting  homesteads  to  actual 
settlers.  Since  the  1st  day  of  January  last,  the  before-men- 
tioned quantity  of  1,456,514  acres  of  land  have  been  taker  up 
under  its  provisions.  This  fact  and  the  amount  of  sales  fur- 
nish gratifying  evidence  of  increasing  settlement  upon  the 
public  lands,  notwithstanding  the  great  struggle  in  which  the 
energies  of  the  Nation  have  been  engaged,  and  which  has  re- 
quired so  large  a  withdrawal  of  our  citizens  from  their  accus- 
tomed pursuits. 

"  The  measures  provided  at  your  last  session  for  the  re 
moval  of  certain  Indian  tribes,  have  been  carried  into  eS'ect. 
Sundry  treaties  have  been  negotiated  which  will,  in  due 
time,  be  submitted  for  the  constitutional  action  of  the  Senate. 
They  contain  stipulations  for  extinguishing  the  possessory 
rights  of  the  Indians  to  large  and  valuable  tracts  of  lands. 
It  is  hoped  that  the  eS'ect  of  these  treaties  will  result  in  the 


268  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Annual  Message.  ludiai;  Tribe-.  The  Country  ind  the  War 


establishment  of  permanent  friendly  relations  with  such  of 
these  tribes  as  have  been  brought  into  frequent  and  bloody 
collision  with  our  outlying  settlements  and  emigrants.  Sound 
policy  and  our  imperative  duty  to  these  wards  of  the  Govern- 
ment demand  our  anxious  and  constant  attention  to  their 
material  well-being,  to  their  progress  in  the  arts  of  civiliza- 
tion, and  above  all,  to  that  moral  training  which,  under  the 
blessing  of  Divine  Providence,  will  confer  upon  them  the 
elevated  and  sanctifying  influences,  the  hopes  and  consolations 
of  the  Christian  faith. 

"  When  Congress  assembled  a  year  ago,  the  war  had 
already  lasted  nearly  twenty  months ;  and  there  had  been 
many  conflicts  on  both  land  and  sea,  with  varying  results. 
The  rebellion  had  been  pressed  back  into  reduced  limits ;  yet 
the  tone  of  public  feeling  and  opiuion,  at  home  and  abroad, 
was  not  satisfactory.  With  other  signs,  the  popular  elec- 
tions, then  just  past,  indicated  uneasiness  among  ourselves, 
while,  amid  much  that  was  cold  and  menacing,  the  kindest 
words  coming  from  Euro[)e  were  uttered  in  accents  of  pity 
that  we  were  too  blind  to  surrender  a  hopeless  cause.  Our 
commerce  was  suffering  greatly  by  a  few  armed  vessels  built 
upon  and  furnished  from  foreign  shores  ;  and  we  were  threat- 
ened with  such  additions  from  the  same  quarter  as  would 
sweep  our  trade  from  the  sea  and  raise  our  blockade.  We 
had  failed  to  elicit  from  European  Governments  any  thing 
hopeful  upon  this  subject.  The  preliminary  Emancipation 
Proclamation,  issued  in  September,  was  running  its  assigned 
period  to  the  beginning  of  the  new  year.  A  month  later  the 
final  proclamation  came,  including  the  announcement  that 
colored  men  of  suitable  condition  would  be  received  into  the 
war  service.  The  policy  of  emancipation,  and  of  employing 
black  soldiers,  gave  to  the  future  a  new  aspect,  about  which 
hope,  and  fear,  and  doubt  contended  in  uncertain  conflict. 
According  to  our  political  system,  as  a  matter  of  civil  admin- 
istration, the  General   Government  had  no  lawful  power  to 


THE    THIRTY-EIGHTH   COXGRESS.  269 


Annual  Message.  The  Country  and  the  War.  The  Emancipation  Proclamation 


efifect  emancipation  in  any  State  ;  and  for  a  long  time  it  had 
l)oen  hoped  that  the  rebellion  could  be  suppressed  without 
resorting  to  it  as  a  military  measure.  It  was  all  the  while 
deemed  possible  that  the  necessity  for  it  might  come,  and 
that,  if  it  should,  the  crisis  of  the  contest  would  then  be  pre- 
sented. It  came,  and  as  was  anticipated,  it  was  followed  by 
dark  and  doubtful  days.  Eleven  months  having  now  passed, 
we  are  permitted  to  take  another  review.  The  rebel  borders 
are  pressed  still  further  back,  and  by  the  complete  opening 
of  the  Mississippi  the  country  dominated  by  the  rebellion  is 
divided  into  distinct  pai'ts,  with  no  practical  communication 
between  them.  Tennessee  and  Arkansas  have  been  substan- 
tially cleared  of  insurgent  control,  and  influential  citizens  in 
each,  owners  of  slaves  and  advocates  of  slavery  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  rebellion,  now  declare  openly  for  emancipation 
in  their  respective  States.  Of  those  States  not  included  in 
the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  Maryland  and  Missouri, 
neither  of  which,  three  years  ago,  would  tolerate  any  restraint 
upon  the  extension  of  slavery  into  new  Territories,  only  dis- 
pute now  as  to  the  best  mode  of  removing  it  wi<  hin  their  own 
limits. 

"  Of  those  who  were  slaves  at  the  beginning  of  the  rebellion, 
full  one  hundred  thousand  are  now  in  the  United  States  mili- 
tary service,  about  one-half  of  which  number  actually  bear 
arms  in  the  ranks  ;  .thus  giving  the  double  advantage  of  taking 
so  much  labor  from  the  insurgent  cause,  and  supplying  the 
places  which  otherwise  must  be  filled  with  so  many  white 
men.  So  far  as  tested,  it  is  difficult  to  say  they  are  not  as 
good  soldiers  as  any.  No  servile,  insurrection,  or  tendency 
to  violence  or  cruelty,  has  marked  the  measures  of  emancipa- 
tion and  arming  the  blacks.  These  measures  have  been  much 
discussed  in  foreign  countries,  and  contemporary  with  such 
discussion  the  tone  of  public  sentiment  there  is  much  im- 
proved. At  home  the  same  measures  have  been  fully  dis- 
cussed, supported,  criticised,  and  denounced,  and  the  annual 


270  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Annual  Message.  The  Pardoning  Power.  The  Oath. 

elections  following  are  highly  encouraging  to  those  whose 
official  duty  it  is  to  bear  the  country  through  this  great  trial. 
Thiis  we  have  the  new  reckoning.  The  crisis  which  threat- 
ened to  divide  the  friends  of  the  Union  is  past. 

"  Looking  now  to  the  present  and  future,  and  with  reference 
to  a  resumption  of  the  National  authority  within  the  States 
wherein  that  authority  has  been  suspended,  I  have  thought 
fit  to  issue  a  proclamation,  a  copy  of  which  is  herewith  trans- 
mitted. On  examination  of  this  proclamation  it  will  appear, 
as  is  believed,  that  nothing  is  attempted  beyond  what  is 
amply  justified  by  the  Constitution.  True,  the  form  of  an 
oath  is  given,  but  no  man  is  coerced  to  take  it.  The  man  is 
only  promised  a  pardon  in  case  he  voluntarily  takes  the  oath. 
The  Constitution  authorizes  the  Executive  to  grant  or  with- 
hold the  pai'don  at  his  own  absolute  discretion ;  and  this 
includes  the  power  to  grant  on  terms,  as  is  fully  established 
by  judicial  and  other  authorities. 

"It  is  also  proffered  that  if,  in  any  of  the,  States  named,  a 
State  Government  shall  be,  in  the  mode  prescribed,  set  up, 
such  Government  shall  be  recognized  and  guarantied  by  the 
United  States,  and  that  under  it  the  State  shall,  on  the  con- 
stitutional conditions,  be  protected  against  invasion  and  do- 
mestic violence.  The  constitutional  obligation  of  the  United 
States  to  guarantee  to  every  State  in  the  Union  a  republican 
form  of  government,  and  to  protect  the  State,  in  the  cases 
stated,  is  explicit  and  full.  But  why  tender  the  benefits  of 
this  provision  only  to  a  State  Government  set  up  in  this  par- 
ticular way  ?  This  section  of  the  Constitution  contemplates 
a  case  wherein  the  element  within  a  State  favorable  to  repub- 
lican government,  in  the  Union,  may  be  too  feeble  for  an 
opposite  and  hostile  element  external  to  or  even  within  the 
State ;  and  such  are  precisely  the  cases  with  which  we  are 
now  dealing. 

"An  attempt  to  guarantee  and  protect  a  revived  State 
Government,  constructed  in  whole,  or  in  preponderating  part, 


THE   THIRTY-EIGHTH   CONGRESS.  271 

Annual  Message.  The  Emancipation  Proclamation.  The  Freed  Pooplq. 

from  the  very  element  against  whose  hostility  and  violence  it 
is  to  be  protected,  is  simply  absurd.  There  must  be  a  test 
by  which  to  separate  the  opposing  element,  so  as  to  build 
only  from  the  sound ;  and  that  test  is  a  sufficiently  liberal 
one,  which  accepts  as  sound  whoever  will  make  a  sworn  re- 
cantation of  his  former  unsoundness. 

"  But  if  it  be  proper  to  require,  as  a  test  of  admission  to  the 
political  body,  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  to  the  Union  under  it,  why  also  to  the 
laws  and  proclamations  in  regard  to  slavery  ?  Those  laws 
and  proclamations  were  enacted  and  put  forth  for  the  purpose 
of  aiding  in  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion.  To  give  them 
their  fullest  effect,  there  had  to  be  a  pledge  for  their  main- 
tenance. In  my  judgment  they  have  aided,  and  will  further 
aid,  the  cause  for  which  they  were  intended.  To  now  aban- 
don them  would  be  not  only  to  relinquish  a  lever  of  power, 
but  would  also  be  a  cruel  and  an  astounding  breach  of  faith. 
I  may  add  at  this  point  that,  while  I  remain  in  my  present 
position,  I  shall  not  attempt  to  retract  or  modify  the  Eman- 
cipation Proclamation ;  nor  shall  I  return  to  slavery  any 
person  who  is  free  by  the  terms  of  that  proclamation,  or  by 
any  of  the  acts  of  Congress.  For  these  and  other  reasons,  it 
is  thought  best  that  support  of  these  measures  shall  be 
included  in  the  oath  ;  and  it  is  believed  the  Executive  may 
lawfully  claim  it  in  return  for  pardon  and  restoration  of  for- 
feited rights,  which  he  has  clear  constitutional  power  to 
withhold  altogether,  or  grant  upon  the  terms  which  he  shall 
deem  wisest  for  the  public  interest.  It  should  be  observed, 
Iso,  that  this  part  of  the  oath  is  subject  to  the  modifying 
and  abrogating  power  of  legislation  and  supreme  judicial 
decision. 

"  The  proposed  acquiescence  of  the  National  Executive  in 
any  reasonable  temporary  State  arrangement  for  the  freed 
people,  is  made  with  the  view  of  possibly  modifying  the  con- 
fusion and  destitution  which  must,  at  best,  attend  all  classes 


272  LIFE   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN-. 

Annual  Message.  Reconstruction.  A  Rallying  Point. 

bj  a  total  revolution  of  labor  throughout  whole  States.  It 
is  hoped  that  the  already  deeply  afflicted  people  in  those 
States  may  be  somewhat  more  ready  to  give  up  the  cause  of 
their  affliction,  if,  to  this  extent,  this  vital  matter  be  left  to 
themselves ;  while  no  power  of  the  jSTational  Executive  to 
prevent  an  abuse,  is  abridged  by  the  proposition. 

"  The  suggestion  in  the  proclamation  as  to  maintaining  the 
political  framework  of  the  States  on  what  is  called  recon- 
struction, is  made  in  the  hope  that  it  may  do  good  without 
danger  of  harm..  It  will  save  labor,  and  avoid  great  con- 
fusion 

"  But  why  any  proclamation  now  upon  this  subject  ?  This 
question  is  beset  with  the  conflicting  views  that  the  step 
might  be  delayed  too  long  or  be  taken  too  soon.  In  some 
States  the  elements  for  resumption  seem  ready  for  action,  but 
remain  inactive,  apparently  for  want  of  a  rallying  point — a 
plan  of  action.  Why  shall  A  adopt  the  plan  of  B,  rather 
than  B  that  of  A  ?  And  if  A  and  B  should  agree,  how  can 
they  know  but  that  the  General  Government  here  will  reject 
their  plan  ?  By  the  proclamation  a  plan  is  presented  which 
may  be  accepted  by  them  as  a  rallying  point,  and  which 
they  are  assured  in  advance  will  not  be  rejected  here.  This 
may  bring  them  to  act  sooner  than  they  otherwise  would. 

"  The  objection  to  a  premature  presentation  of  a  plan  by 
the  National  Executive  consists  in  the  danger  of  committals 
on  points  which  could  be  more  safely  left  to  further  devel- 
opments. Care  has  been  taken  to  so  shape  the  document  as 
to  avoid  embarrassment  from  this  source.  Saying  that,  on 
certain  terms,  certain  classes  will  be  pardoned,  with  rights 
restored,  it  is  not  said  that  other  classes  or  other  terms  will 
never  be  included.  Saying  that  reconstruction  will  be 
accepted,  if  presented  in  a  specific  way,  it  is  not  said  it  will 
never  be  accepted  in  any  other  way. 

"  The  movements,  by  State  action,  for  emancipation  in 
several  of  the  States,  not  included  in  the  Emancipation  Pro- 


THE   THIETY-EIGHTH  CONGRESS.  273 

Annual  Message.  The  War  Power.  Explanatory  Proclamation. 

clamation,  are  matters  of  profound  congratulation.  And 
while  I  do  not  repeat  in  detail  what  I  have  heretofore  so 
earnestly  urged  upon  this  subject,  my  general  views  and  feel- 
ings remain  unchanged ;  and  I  trust  that  Congress  will  omit 
no  fair  opportunity  of  aiding  these  important  steps  to  a  great 
consummation. 

"  Iq  the  midst  of  other  cares,  however  important,  we  must 
no*  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  war  power  is  still  our  main 
reliance.  To  that  power  alone  can  we  look,  yet  for  a  time, 
to  give  confidence  to  the  people  in  the  contested  regions  that 
the  insurgent  power  will  not  again  overrun  them.  Until  that 
confidence  shall  be  established,  little  can  be  done  anywhere 
for  what  is  called  reconstruction.  Hence  our  chiefest  care 
must  still  be  directed  to  the  Army  and  Navy,  who  have  thus 
far  borne  their  harder  part  so  nobly  and  well.  And  it  may 
be  esteemed  fortunate  that  in  giving  the  greatest  efficiency  to 
these  indispensable  arms,  we  do  also  honorably  recognize  the 
gallant  men,  from  commander  to  sentinel,  who  compose  them, 
and,  to  whom,  more  than  to  others,  the  world  must  stand  in- 
debted for  the  home  of  freedom  disenthralled,  regenerated,  en- 
larged, and  perpetuated. 

Dec.  8,  1863.  "Abraham  Lincoln." 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  March,  1864,  the  following  proc- 
lamation, explanatory  of  the  one  issued  on  the  eighth  of 
December,  1863,  was  published  : 

"  Whereas,  It  has  become  necessary  to  define  the  cases  in 
which  insurgent  enemies  are  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  the 
Proclamation  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  which 
was  made  on  the  8th  day  of  December,  1863,  and  the  manner 
in  which  they  shall  proceed  to  avail  themselves  of  these 
benefits ; 

"  And  whereas,  The  objects  of  that  proclamation  were  to 
suppress  the  insurrection  and  to  restore  the  authority  of  the 
United  States ; 
18 


271  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Explauatory  Proclamation.  The  Oath.  How  Administered. 

"And  whereas,   The  amnesty  therein   proposed   by  the 
President  was  offered  with  reference  to  these  objects  alone  ; 

"  Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States,  do  hereby  proclaim  and  declare  that  the  said 
proclamation  does  not  apply  to  the  cases  of  persons  who,  at 
the  time  when  they  seek  to  obtain  the  benefits  thereof,  by 
taking  the  oath  thereby  prescribed,  are  in  military,  naval  or 
civil  confinement  or  custody,  or  under  bonds  or  on  parole  of 
the  civil,  military  or  naval  authorities  or  agents  of  the  United 
States,  as  prisoners  of  war,  or  persons  detained  for  offences 
of  any  kind,  either  before  or  after  conviction  ;  and  that  on  the 
contrary,  it  does  apply  only  to  those  persons  who,  being  at 
large  and  free  from  any  arrest,  confinement  or  duress,  shall 
voluntarily  come  forward  and  take  the  said  oath,  with  the 
purpose  of  restoring  peace  and  establishing  the  national  au- 
thority. 

"  Prisoners  excluded  from  the  amnesty  offered  in  the  said 
proclamation  may  apply  to  the  President  for  clemency,  like 
all  other  offenders,  and  their  application  will  receive  due  con- 
sideration. 

"  I  do  further  declare  and  proclaim  that  the  oath  prescribed 
in  the  aforesaid  proclamation  of  the  8th  of  December,  1863, 
may  be  taken  and  subscribed  to  before  any  commanding 
officer,  civil,  military  or  naval,  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  or  any  civil  or  military  officer  of  a  State  or  Territory 
not  in  insurrection,  who,  by  the  laws  thereof,  may  be  quali- 
fied for  administering  oaths. 

"All  officers  who  receive  such  oaths  are  hereby  authorized 
to  give  certificates  thereon  to  the  persons  respectively  by 
whom  they  are  made,  and  such  officers  are  hereby  required  to 
transmit  the  original  records  of  such  oaths  at  as  early  a  day 
as  may  be  convenient  to  the  Department  of  State,  where  they 
will  be  deposited  and  remain  in  the  archives  of  the  Govern- 
ment. 

"  The  Secretary  of  State  will  keep  a  register  thereof,  and 


THE   THIRTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS.  275 

IIow  Administered.  Speech  at  Washington.  The  Women  of  America, 

will,  on  application,  in  proper  cases,  issue  certificates  of  such 
records  in  the  customary  form  of  official  certificates. 

"  In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  twenty-sixth  day  of 
March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  sixty-four,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States 
the  eighty-eighth. 

"  By  the  President :  "Abraham  Lincoln. 

"W.  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 


CHAPTER  XVIIL 


PROGRESS. 


F  resident's  Speech  at  Washington— Speech  to  a  New  York  Committee— Speech  in  Balti- 
more— Letter  to  a  Kentucliian— Employment  of  Colored  Troops— Davis's  Threat — Gen- 
eral Order— President's  Order  on  the  Subject. 

On  the  night  of  the  eighteenth  of  March,  1864,  in  response 
to  a  call  from  the  multitude  at  a  fair  held  in  the  Patent 
Office  at  Washington,  in  aid  of  an  organization  for  the  relief 
of  Union  soldiers  everywhere,  Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  as  follows  : 

"  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : — I  appear,  to  say  but  a  word. 
This  extraordinary  war  in  which  we  are  engaged  falls  heavily 
upon  all  classes  of  people,  but  the  most  heavily  upon  the 
soldier.  For  it  has  been  said,  'AH  that  a  man  hath  will  he 
give  for  his  life  ;'  and,  while  all  contribute  of  their  substance, 
the  soldier  puts  his  life  at  stake,  and  often  yields  it  up  in  his 
country's  cause.  The  highest  merit,  then,  is  due  to  the 
soldier. 

"  In  this  extraordinary  war,  extraordinary  developments 
have  manifested  themselves,  such  as  have  not  been  seen  in 
former  wars ;   and  among  these  manifestations  nothing  has 


27(>  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLX. 


The  Women  of  America.  Speech  to  the  Workingmen. 


been  more  remarkable  than  these  fairs  for  the  relief  of  suffer- 
ing soldiers  and  their  families."  And  the  chief  agents  in  these 
fairs  are  the  women  of  America.  I  am  not  accustomed  to 
the  use  of  the  language  of  eulogy ;  I  have  never  studied  the 
art  of  paying  compliments  to  women  ;  but  I  must  say,  that, 
if  all  that  has  been  said  by  orators  and  poets,  since  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world,  in  praise  of  women,  were  applied  to  the 
women  of  America,  it  would  not  do  them  justice  for  their 
conduct  during  this  war.  I  will  close  by  saying,  God  bless 
the  women  of  America  !" 

Three  days  later,  a  committee  appointed  by  the  Working- 
men's  Democratic  Republican  Association  of  New  York 
waited  on  the  President,  and  presented  him  with  an  address 
informing  him  that  he  had  been  elected  a  member  of  that 
organization.  After  the  chairman  had  stated  the  object  of 
the  visit,  Mr.  Lincoln  made  the  following  reply  : 

"  Gentlemen  op  the  Committee  : — The  honorary  member- 
ship in  your  Association  so  generously  tendered  is  gratefully 
accepted.  You  comprehend,  as  your  address  shows,  that  the 
existing  rebellion  means  more  and  tends  to  more  than  the 
perpetuation  of  African  slavery — that  it  is,  in  fact,  a  war 
upon  the  rights  of  all  working  people.  Partly  to  show  that 
the  view  has  not  escaped  my  attention,  and  partly  that  I  can- 
not better  express  myself,  I  read  a  passage  from  the  message 
to  Congress  in  December,  1861  : 

"  '  It  continues  to  develop  that  the  insurrection  is  largely, 
if  not  exclusively,  a  war  upon  the  first  principle  of  popular 
government — the  rights  of  the  people.  Conclusive  evidence 
of  this  is  found  in  the  most  grave  and  maturely  considered 
public  documents,  as  well  as  in  the  general  tone  of  the  in- 
surgents. In  those  documents  we  find  the  abridgement  of 
the  existing  right  of  suS"rage,  and  the  denial  to  the  people  of 
all  right  to  participate  in  the  selection  of  public  officers,  ex- 
cept  the    legislative    body,   boldly   advocated    with   labored 


PEOGRESS.  277 


Speech  to  the  Workingmen.  Labor  and  Capital 

argumen^b,  to  prove  that  large  control  of  the  people  in  gov- 
ernment is  the  source  of  all  political  evil.  Monarchy  is 
sometimes  hinted  at  as  a  possible  refuge  from  the  power  of 
the  people.  In  my  present  position,  I  could  scarcely  be  jus- 
tified were  I  to  omit  raising  my  voice  against  this  approach 
of  returning  despotism. 

"  '  It  is  not  needed  or  fitting  here  that  a  general  argument 
should  be  made  in  favor  of  popular  institutions  ;  but  thei*e  is 
one  point,  with  its  connections,  not  so  hackneyed  as  most 
others,  to  which  I  ask  a  brief  attention.  It  is  the  effort  to 
place  capital  on  an  equal  footing  with,  if  not  above,  labor  in 
the  structure  of  the  Government.  It  is  assumed  that  labor  is 
available  only  in  connection  with  capital ;  that  nobody  labors 
unless  somebody  else  owning  capital  somehow,  by  use  of  it, 
induces  him  to  labor. 

" '  This  assumed,  it  is  next  considered  whether  it  is  best 
that  capital  shall  hire  laborers,  and  thus  induce  them  to  work 
by  their  own  consent,  or  hmj  them  and  drive  them  to  it  with- 
out their  consent.  Having  proceeded  so  far,  it  is  naturally 
concluded  that  all  laborers  are  either  hired  laborers  or  what 
we  call  slaves.  And,  further,  it  is  assumed  that  whoever  is 
once  a  hired  laborer  is  fixed  in  that  condition  for  life.  Now 
there  is  no  such  relation  between  capital  and  labor  as  as- 
sumed, nor  is  there  any  such  thing  as  a  free  man  being  fixed 
for  life  in  the  condition  of  a  hired  laborer.  Both  of  these 
assumptions  are  false,  and  all  inferences  from  them  are 
groundless. 

"  '  Labor  is  prior  to  and  independent  of  capital.  Capital  is 
only  the  fruit  of  labor,  and  never  could  have  existed  if  labor 
had  not  first  existed.  Labor  is  the  support  of  capital,  and 
deserves  much  the  higher  consideration.  Capital  has  its 
rights,  which  are  as  worthy  of  protection  as  any  other  rights. 
Nor  is  it  denied  that  there  is,  and  probably  always  will  be,  a 
relation  between  labor  and  capital  producing  mutual  benefits. 
The  error  is  in  assuming  that  the  whole  labor  of  a  community 


278  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Speech  to  the  Workingmen.  Sound  Principles.  The  Prudept  Beginner. 

exists  within  that  relation.  A  few  men  own  capital,  and  that 
few  avoid  labor  themselves,  and  with  that  capital  hire  or  buy 
another  few  to  labor  for  them. 

"  'A  large  majority  belong  to  neither  class — neither  work 
for  others  nor  have  others  working  for  them.  In  most  of  the 
Southern  States  a  majority  of  the  whole  people,  of  all  colors, 
are  neither  slaves  nor  masters,  while,  in  the  Northern  States, 
a  large  majority  are  neither  hirers  nor  hired.  Men  with  their 
families — wives,  sons,  and  daughters — work  for  themselves 
on  their  farms,  in  their  houses,  and  in  their  shops,  taking  the 
whole  product  to  themselves,  and  asking  no  favors  of  capital 
on  the  one  hand  nor  of  hired  laborers  or  slaves  on  the  other. 
It  is  not  forgotten  that  a  considerable  number  of  persons 
mingle  their  own  labor  with  capital — that  is,  they  labor  with 
their  own  hands  and  also  buy  or  hire  others  to  labor  for  them  ; 
but  this  is  only  a  mixed  and  not  a  distinct  class.  Xo  prin- 
ciple stated  is  disturbed  by  the  existence  of  this  mixed  class. 

"  'Again.  As  has  already  been  said,  there  is  not  of  neces- 
sity any  such  thing  as  the  free  hired  laborer  being  fixed  to 
that  condition  for  life.  Many  independent  men  everywhere 
in  these  States,  a  few  years  back  in  their  lives,  were  hired 
laborers.  The  prudent,  penniless  beginner  in  the  world 
labors  for  wages  awhile,  saves  a  surplus  with  which  to  buy 
tools  or  lands  for  himself,  then  labors  on  his  own  account  an- 
other while,  and  at  length  hires  another  new  beginner  to  help 
him.  This  is  the  just,  and  generous,  and  prosperous  system 
which  opens  the  way  to  all — gives  hope  to  all,  and  conse- 
quent ^energy,  and  progress,  and  improvement  to  all.  No 
men  living  are  more  worthy  to  be  trusted  than  those  who  toil 
up  from  poverty  —  none  less  inclined  to  take  or  touch 
aught  which  they  have  not  honestly  earned.  Let  them  be- 
ware of  surrendering  a  political  power  which  they  already 
possess,  and  which,  if  surrendered,  will  surely  be  used  to 
close  the  door  of  advancement  against  such  as  they,  and  to 


PROGRESS. 


279 


Speech  to  the  Workingmen. 


Property  Desirable. 


Speech  in  Baltimore, 


fix  new  disabilities  and  burdens  upon  tbeni  till  all  of  liberty- 
shall  be  lost.' 

"  The  views  then  expressed  remain  unchanged — nor  have  I 
much  to  add.  None  are  so  deeply  interested  to  resist  the 
present  rebellion  as  the  working  people.  Let  them  beware 
of  prejudices  working  disunion  and  hostility  among  them- 
selves. The  most  notable  feature  of  a  disturbance  in  your 
city  last  summer,  was  the  hanging  of  some  working  people 
by  other  working  people.  It  should  never  be  so.  The 
strongest  bond  of  human  sympathy,  outside  of  the  family  re- 
lation, should  be  one  uniting  all  working  people,  of  all 
nations,  tongues,  and  kindreds.  Xor  should  this  lead  to 
a  war  upon  property  or  the  owuers  of  property.  Property 
is  the  fruit  of  labor ;  property  is  desirable  ;  is  a  positive  good 
in  the  world.  That  some  should  be  rich,  shows  that  others 
may  become  rich,  and  hence  is  just  encouragement  to  industry 
and  enterprise.  Let  not  him  who  is  houseless  pull  down  the 
house  of  another,  but  let  hini  labor  diligently  and  build  one 
for  himself;  thus,  by  example,  assuring  that  his  own  shall  be 
safe  from  violence  when  built." 


And  in  Baltimore  —  that  Baltimore  through  which,  in 
February,  1861,  he  had  been  compelled  to  pass  by  stealth,  to 
avoid  the  assassin,  on  his  way  to  his  inauguration — on  the 
18th  of  April,  1864,  the  anniversary  eve  of  that  murder 
of  loyal  citizens  armed  in  defence  of  their  imperilled  country — 
Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  at  a  similar  Fair,  and  spoke,  too,  of 
slavery,  as  of  an  institution  practically  annihilated  in  Mary- 
land. 

Trulv  some  advance  had  been  made  during  those  three 
years,  so  pregnant  with  events  I 

"  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : — Calling  it  to  mind  that  we  are 
in  Baltimore,  we  cannot  fail  to  note  that  the  world  moves. 
Looking  upon  the  many  people  I  see  as.sembled  here  to  serve 
tts  they  best  may  the  soldiers  of  the  Union,  it  occurs  to  me 


280 


LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Speech  at  Baltimore. 


Definitiou  of  Liberty. 


that  three  years  ago  those  soldiers  could  not  pass  through 
Baltimore.  I  would  say,  blessings  upon  the  men  who  have 
wrought  these  changes,  and  the  ladies  who  have  assisted 
them.  This  change  which  has  taken  place  in  Baltimore,  is 
part  only  of  a  far  wider  change  that  is  taking  place  all  over 
the  country. 

"When  the  war  commenced,  three  years  ago,  no  one 
expected  that  it  would  last  this  long,  and  no  one  supposed 
that  the  institution  of  slavery  would  be  materially  affected  by 
it.  But  here  we  are.  The  war  is  not  yet  ended,  and 
slavery  has  been  very  materially  affected  or  interfered  with. 
So  true  is  it  that  man  proposes  and  God  disposes. 

"  The  world  is  in  want  of  a  good  definition  of  the  word 
liberty.  We  all  declare  ourselves  to  be  for  liberty,  but  we  do 
not  all  mean  the  same  thing.  Some  mean  that  a  man  can  do 
as  he  pleases  with  himself  and  his  property.  With  others, 
it  means  that  some  men  can  do  as  they  please  with  other 
men  and  other  men's  labor.  Each  of  these  things  are  called 
liberty,  although  they  are  entirely  different.  To  give  au 
illustration  :  A  shepherd  drives  the  wolf  from  the  throat  of 
his  sheep  when  attacked  by  him,  and  the  sheep,  of  course, 
thanks  the  shepherd  for  the  preservation  of  his  life  ;  but  the 
wolf  denounces  him  as  despoiling  the  sheep  of  his  liberty — 
especially  if  it  be  a  black  sheep. 

"  This  same  difference  of  opinion  prevails  among  some  of 
the  people  of  the  North.  But  the  people  of  Maryland  have 
recently  been  doing  something  to  properly  define  the  meaning 
of  the  word,  and  I  thank  them  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart 
for  what  they  have  done  and  are  doing. 

'■■  It  is  not  very  becoming  for  a  President  to  make  a  speech 
at  great  length,  but  there  is  a  painful  rumor  afloat  in  the 
country,  in  reference  to  which  a  few  words  shall  be  said.  It 
is  reported  that  there  has  been  a  wanton  massacre  of  some 
hundreds  of  colored  soldiers  at  Fort  Pillow,  Tennessee, 
during  a  recent  engagement  there,  and  it  is  fit  to  explain 


PROGRESS.  281 


Massacre  at  Fort  Kllow.  President's  Policy  on  Slavery. 

some  facts  in  relation  to  the  affair.  It  is  said  by  some 
persons  that  the  Government  is  not,  in  this  matter,  doing  its 
duty.  At  the  commencement  of  the  war,  it  was  doubtful 
whether  black  men  would  be  used  as  soldiers  or  not.  The 
matter  was  examined  into  verj''  carefully,  and  after  mature 
deliberation,  the  whole  matter  resting  as  it  were  with  himself, 
he,  in  his  judgment,  decided  that  they  should. 

"  He  was  responsible  for  the  act  to  the  American  people, 
to  a  Christian  nation,  to  the  future  historian,  and  above  all, 
to  his  God,  to  whom  he  would  have,  one  day,  to  render 
an  account  of  his  stewardship.  He  would  now  say  that 
in  his  opinion  the  black  soldier  should  have  the  same  protec- 
tion as  the  white  soldier,  and  he  would  have  it.  It  was  an 
error  to  say  that  the  Government  was  not  acting  in  the 
matter.  The  Government  has  no  direct  evidence  to  confirm 
the  reports  in  existence  relative  to  this  massacre,  but  he  him- 
self believed  the  facts  in  relation  to  it  to  be  as  stated.  When 
the  Government  does  know  the  facts  from  official  sources,  and 
they  prove  to  substantiate  the  reports,  retribution  will  be 
surely  given." 

Mr.  Lincoln's  policy  upon  the  question  of  slavery,  is 
tersely  presented  in  the  following  letter  written  by  him  to  a 
Kentuckian,  dated  Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  April  4, 
1864. 

"A.  G.  Hodges,  Esq.,  Frankfort,  Ky.  : 

"  My  Dear  Sir  :  —  You  ask  me  to  put  in  writing  the 
substance  of  what  I  verbally  said  the  other  day  in  your  pre- 
sence, to  Governor  Bramlette  and  Senator  Dixon.  It  was 
about  as  follows  : 

"I  am  naturally  anti-slavery.  If  slavery  is  not  wrong, 
nothing  is  wrong.  I  can  not  remember  when  I  did  not  so 
think  and  feel.  And  yet,  I  have  never  understood  that  he 
Presidency  conferred  upon  me  an  unrestricted  right  to  ict 
officially  upon  this  judgment  and  feeling.  It  was  in  the  oath 
I  took,  that  I  would,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  preserve,  pro- 


282  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LIXCOLN". 

His  Answer  to  Kentuckians.  Slavery  Subordinate  to  the  Country. 

tect  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  I 
could  not  take  the  office  without  taking  the  oath.  Nor  was 
it  my  view,  that  I  might  take  an  oath  to  get  power,  and 
break  the  oath  in  using  the  power.  I  understood,  too,  that  in 
ordinary  civil  administration,  this  oath  even  forbade  me  to 
practically  indulge  my  primary,  abstract  judgment,  on  the 
moral  question  of  slavery.  I  had  publicly  declared  this  many 
times,  and  in  many  ways.  And  I  aver  that,  to  this  day,  I 
have  done  no  official  act  in  mere  deference  to  my  abstract 
judgment  and  feeling  on  slavery.  ' 

"  I  did  understand,  however,  that  my  oath  to  preserve  the 
Constitution  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  imposed  upon  me  the 
duty  of  preserving,  by  every  indispensable  means,  the  Gov- 
ernment— that  Nation — of  which  that  Constitution  was  the 
organic  law.  Was  it  possible  to  lose  the  Nation,  and  yet 
preserve  the  Constitution  ? 

"  By  general  law,  life  and  limb  must  be  protected  :  yet  often 
a  limb  must  be  amputated  to  save  a  life  ;  but  a  life  is  never 
wisely  given  to  save  a  limb.  I  feel  that  measures,  otherwise 
unconstitutional,  might  become  lawful,  by  becoming  indis- 
pensable to  the  preservation  of  the  Constitution,  through  the 
preservation  of  the  Nation.  Right  or  wrong,  I  assumed  this 
ground  and  now  avow  it.  I  could  not  feel  that  to  the  best 
of  my  ability  I  had  even  tried  to  preserve  the  Constitution,  if 
to  save  slavery  or  any  minor  matter,  I  should  permit  the 
wreck  of  Government,  Country  and  Constitution,  all  together 
When  early  in  the  war,  Gen.  Fremont  attempted  military 
emancipation,  I  forbade  it,  because  I  did  not  then  think  it  an 
indispensable  necessity.  When  a  little  later.  Gen.  Cameron, 
then  Secretary  of  War,  suggested  the  arming  of  the  blacks,  I 
objected,  because  I  did  not  yet  think  it  an  indispensable 
necessity.  When,  still  later,  Gen.  Hunter  attempted  military 
emancipation,  I  again  forbade  it,  because  I  did  not  yet  think 
the  indispensable  necessity  had  come. 

"When,  in   March,   and  May,   and   July,   1862,  I   made 


PROGRESS.  283 


His  Answer  to  Kentuckians.  Slavery  Doomed. 

earnest  and  successive  appeals  to  the  Border  States  to  favor 
compensated  emancipation,  I  believed  the  indispensable 
necessity  for  military  emancipation  and  arming  the  blacks 
would  come,  unless  averted  by  that  measure.  They  declined 
the  proposition,  and  I  was,  in  my  best  judgment,  driven  to 
the  alternative  of  either  surrendering  the  Union,  and  with  it 
the  Constitution,  or  of  laying  strong  hand  upon  the  colored 
element.  I  chose  the  latter.  In  choosing  it,  I  hoped  for 
greater  gain  than  loss  ;  but  of  this  I  was  not  entirely  confi- 
dent. More  than  a  year  of  trial  now  shows  no  loss  by  it,  in 
our  foreign  relations  ;  none  in  our  home  popular  sentiment ; 
none  in  our  white  military  force — no  loss  by  it  anyhow  or 
anywhere.  On  the  contrary,  it  shows  a  gain  of  quite  a 
hundred  and  thirty  thousand  soldiers,  seamen,  and  laborers. 
These  are  palpable  facts,  about  which,  as  facts,  there  can  be 
no  caviling.  We  have  the  men,  and  we  could  not  have  had 
them  without  the  measure. 

"And  now,  let  any  Union  man  who  complains  of  the 
measure,  test  himself,  by  writing  down  in  one  line  that  he  is 
for  subduing  the  rebellion  by  force  of  arms,  and  in  the  next 
that  he  is  for  taking  these  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
men  from  the  Union  side,  and  placing  them  where  they 
would  be,  but  for  the  measure  he  condemns.  If  he  can  not 
face  his  cause  so  stated,  it  is  only  because  he  can  not  face  the 
truth. 

"  I  add  a  word,  which  was  not  in  the  verbal  conversation. 
In  telling  this  tale,  I  attempt  no  compliment  to  my  own 
sagacity.  I  claim  not  to  have  controlled  events,  but  confess 
plainly  that  events  have  controlled  me.  Now,  at  the  end  of 
three  years'  struggle,  the  Nation's  condition  is  not  what  either 
party  or  any  man  devised  or  expected.  God  alone  can  claim 
it.  Whither  it  is  tending,  seems  plain.  If  God  now  wills 
the  removal  of  a  great  wrong,  and  wills  also  that  we  of  the 
North,  as  well  as  you  of  the  South,  shall  pay  fairly  for 
our  complicity  in    that  wrong,  impartial    history  will    find 


284:  LIFE   OP  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Employing  Negro  Soldiers.  Retaliation.  President's  Order. 

therein  new  cause  to  attest  and  revere  the  justice  and  goodness 
of  God.  .Yours  truly, 

"A.  Lincoln." 

The  results  of  the  employment  of  negro  soldiers — a  measure 
which,  at  the  time  it  was  first  announced,  caused  no  little 
commotion  among  the  over-sensitive  in  the  loyal  States,  and 
was  looked  upon  with  disfavor  by  many  white  soldiers,  as  well 
— as  shown  in  the  above  letter,  precluded  further  arguments 
upon  the  question. 

The  Davis  combination  at  Richmond,  having  announced 
that  none  of  the  immunities  recognized  under  the  laws  of  war 
would  be  granted  to  colored  soldiers  or  their  officers,  General 
Orders  No.  100,  under  date  of  April  24,  1863,  "previously 
approved  by  the  President,"  promulgating  general  instructions 
for  the  government  of  our  armies,  was  issued,  containing 
the  following  : 

"  The  law  of  nations  knows  of  no  distinction  of  color  ;  and 
if  an  enemy  of  the  United  States  should  enslave  and  sell  any 
captured  persons  of  their  army,  it  would  be  a  case  for  the 
severest  retaliation,  if  not  redressed  upon  complaint.  The 
United  States  cannot  retaliate  by  enslavement ;  therefore, 
death  must  be  the  retaliation  for  this  crime  against  the  law 
of  nations. 

"All  troops  of  the  enemy  known  or  discovered  to  give  no 
quarter  in  general,  or  to  any  portion  of  the  army,  will  receive 
none." 

The  following  order  of  the  President,  issued  by  him  as 
Commander-in-chief,  and  communicated  to  the  entire  army, 
deals  with  this  subject  alone  : 

"Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  July  30,  1863. 
"  It  is  the  duty  of  every  Government  to  give  protection  to 
its  citizens,  of  whatever  class,  color  or  condition,  and  espe- 
cially to  those  who   are  duly  organized   as  soldiers  in  the 
public  service.     The  law  of  nations,  and  the  usages  and  cus- 


RENOMINATED.  285 


President's  Order.  The  Flag  Protects.  Kiml  of  Retaliation. 

toms  of  war,  as  carried  on  by  civilized  powers,  prohibit  no 
distinction  as  to  color  in  the  treatment  of  prisoners  of  war  as 
public  enemies.  To  sell  or  enslave  any  captured  person,  on 
account  of  his  color,  and  for  no  offence  against  the  laws  of 
war,  is  a  relapse  into  barbarism,  and  a  crime  against  the  civil 
ization  of  the  age. 

"  The  Government  of  the  TJnited  States  will  give  the  same 
protection  to  all  its  soldiers ;  and  if  the  enemy  shall  sell  or 
enslave  any  one  because  of  his  color,  the  offence  shall  be  pun- 
ished by  retaliation  upon  the  enemy's  prisoners  in  our  posses- 
sion. 

"  It  is  therefore  ordered,  that  for  every  soldier  of  the  TJnited 
States  killed  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  war,  a  rebel  soldier 
shall  be  executed  ;  and  for  every  one  enslaved  by  the  enemv 
or  sold  into  slavery,  a  rebel  soldier  shall  be  placed  at  hard 
labor  on  the  public  works,  and  continued  at  such  labor  until 
the  one  shall  be  released  and  receive  the  treatment  due  to  a 
prisoner  of  war.  Abraham  Lincoln." 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

RENOMINATED. 

Lieut.  Gen.  Grant — His  ililitarv  Record— Continued  MoTements— Correspomlence  with  tho 
President— .\croS8  the  Rapidan— Richmond  Invested — President's  Letter  to  a  Grant 
Meeting:— Meeting  of  Republican  National  Convention— The  Platform — The  Nomination 
— Mr.  Lincoln's  Reply  to  the  Committee  of  Notification — Remarks  to  Union  League 
Committee — Speech  at  a  Serenade — Speech  to  Ohio  Troops. 

In  1864,  those  grand  military  combinations  were  planned 
and  had  their  commencement  which  were  to  give  the  quietus 
to  that  gigantic  rebellion,  which,  as  we  had  been  gravely  and 
repeatedly  as.=;ured  by  patronizing  foreigners  and  ill-wishers 
of  the  Republic  here  at  home,  could  never  be  subdued — to 
which,  they  being  judges,  the  United  States  would  eventually 
be  forced  to  succumb. 


286  ..      LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Lieut.  Gen.  Grant.  His  Origin.  What  he  has  Done 

On  the  2nd  of  March,  the  President  approved  a  bill,  passed 
by  Congress  on  the  26th  of  February,  reviving  the  grade  of 
Lieutenant-General  in  the  Army,  to  which  position  he  at 
once  nominated,  and  the  Senate  unanimously  confirmed, 
Ulysses  S.  Grant,  then  Major-General. 

Like  the  President,  Gen.  Grant  sprang  from  "  plain 
people  ;"  arose  from  humble  circumstances,  and  had  none  of 
those  advantages  of  birth,  or  family  connections,  or  large 
estate,  which  have  so  often  furnished  such  material  leverage  for 
men  who  have  attained  distinction.  Entering  the  army  as 
Colonel  of  an  Illinois  regiment,  on  the  point  of  being  disbanded, 
which  within  a  month  he  had  made  noticeable  for  its  discipline 
and  character,  even  when  compared  with  those  noteworthy 
regiments  which  Illinois  has  furnished  ;  promoted  to  the  grade 
of  Brigadier-General ;  preventing,  by  the  battle  of  Belmont — 
criticised  at  the  time,  but,  like  many  other  engagements, 
little  understood — the  reinforcement  of  the  rebels  in  Southern 
Missouri  by  troops  from  Columbus  ;  seizing,  with  a  strong 
force,  which  he  had  quietly  gathered  near  Smithland,  almost 
at  one  fell  swoop.  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson — a  rebel  army, 
with  artillery,  and  material,  being  captured  in  each ;  starting 
the  till  then  defiant  rebels  on  a  run  from  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee, which  did  not  end  until  they  reached  Corinth  ;  next 
fighting  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  a  critical  point  of  the  war,  with 
Sherman  as  Chief  Lieutenant — Shiloh,  of  which  he  said,  at  the 
close  of  the  first  day's  fight,  when  every  thing  seemed  against 
us,  "Tough  work  to-day,  but  we'll  beat  them  to-morrow;" 
superseded  by  Buell,  patiently  sitting  at  the  long,  unprofitable 
siege  of  Corinth,  until  he  was  transferred  to  Yicksburg,  which 
in  due  time  greeted  him  with  the  surrender  of  another  rebel 
army,  reopening  the  Father  of  Waters  to  navigation  ;  then 
Chattanooga,  which  he  ordered  Thomas  to  hold  fast,  and  not 
to  give  up,  if  he  starved — and  it  was  not  given  up,  and  East 
Tennessee  was  freed  from  rebels  ;  these  had  been  the  promi- 
nent points  of  Grant's  military  career  during  the  rebellion  up 


EENOMINATED.  287 


Grant  made  Lieutenant-General.  Sherman.  President's  Letter. 


to  the  time  when  he  was  summoned  to  the  command  of  all 
the  armies  then  engaged  in  its  suppression. 

On  the  9th  of  March,  being  upon  official  business  at  Wash- 
ington, the  General  was  invited  to  the  White  House,  and  ad- 
dressed as  follows  by  the  President,  who  handed  him  his 
commission  : 

'■■  General  Grant  : — The  expression  of  the  nation's  appro- 
bation of  what  you  have  already  done,  and  its  reliance  on  you 
for  what  remains  to  do  in  the  existing  great  struggle,  is  now 
presented  with  this  commission,  constituting  you  Lieutenant- 
General  of  the  Army  of  the  United  States. 

"  With  this  high  honor  devolves  on  you  an  additional 
responsibility.  As  the  country  herein  trusts  you,  so,  under 
God,  it  will  sustain  you.  I  scarcely  need  add,  that  with 
what  I  here  speak  for  the  country,  goes  my  own  hearty  per- 
sonal concurrence." 

Sherman  having  been  left  in  command  in  the  south-west, 
with  instructions  to  capture  Atlanta,  the  vital  point  in 
Georgia,  commenced  that  grand  series  of  flanking  movements, 
which,  for  a  time,  seemed  to  occasion  intense  satisfaction  to 
the  rebels,  whose  commander,  Johnston,  upon  all  occasions 
had  Sherman  exactly  where  he  wished  him  ;  while  Grant — 
taciturn,  cool,  and  collected,  with  no  set  speeches,  no  flourish 
of  reviews — proceeded  with  the  difficult  task  which  he  had 
taken  in  hand — the  annihilation  or  capture  of  Lee's  army,  the 
mainstay  of  the  rebels'  military  resources,  and  the  occupation 
of  Richmond. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  the  President  addressed  the  following 
letter  to  the  new  Commander  : 

"  Lieutenant-General  Grant  : — Not  expecting  to  see  you 
before  the  spring  campaign  opens,  I  wish  to  express  in  this 
way  my  entire  satisfaction  with  what  you  have  done  up  to 
tliis  time,  so  far  as  I  understand  it.  The  particulars  of  your 
plan  I  neither  know,  nor  seek  to  know.     You  are  vigilant 


288  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

President's  Letter.  Grant's  Reply.  Beginning  Right 

and  self-reliant ;  and  pleased  with  this,  I  wish  not  to  obtrude 
any  restraints  or  constraints  upon  you.  "While  I  am  very 
anxious  that  any  great  disaster  or  capture  of  our  men  in 
great  numbers  shall  be  avoided,  I  know  that  these  points  are 
less  likely  to  escape  your  attention  than  they  would  be  mine. 
"If  there  be  any  thing  wanting  which  is  in  my  power  to 
give,  do  not  fail  to  let  me  know  it.  And  now,  with  a  brave 
army  and  a  just  cause,  may  God  sustain  you  ! 

"Yours,  very  truly,  A.  Lincoln." 

To  which  the  Greneral,  from  Culpepper  Court  House,  Va., 
on  the  1st  of  May,  thus  replied  : 

"  To  The  President  : — Your  very  kind  letter  is  just  re- 
ceived. The  confidence  you  express  for  the  future  and  satis- 
faction for  the  past,  in  my  military  administration,  is  acknowl- 
edged with  pride.  It  shall  be  my  earnest  endeavor  that  you 
and  the  country  shall  not  be  disappointed. 

"  From  my  first  entrance  into  the  volunteer  service  of  the 
country  to  the  present  day,  I  have  never  had  cause  of  com- 
plaint, have  never  expressed  or  implied  a  complaint  against 
the  Administration,  or  the  Secretary  of  War,  for  throwing 
any  embarrassment  in  the  way  of  my  vigorously  prosecuting 
what  appeared  to  be  my  duty. 

"  Indeed,  since  the  promotion  which  placed  me  in  command 
of  all  the  armies,  and  in  view  of  the  great  responsibility  and 
importance  of  success,  I  have  been  astonished  at  the  readiness 
with  which  every  thing  asked  for  has  been  yielded,  without 
even  an  explanation  being  asked.  Should  my  success  be  less 
than  I  desire  and  expect,  the  least  I  can  say  is,  the  fault  is 
not  with  you.  ' 

"Very  truly,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  U.  S.  Grant,  Lieutenant-General." 

Beginning  at  the  right  end — profiting  by  the  experience  of 
others — wasting   no   time    nor   strength  in  mere  display — 


RENOMINATED.  289 


Army  of  the  Potomac  Moves.         Eebels  OutgeneraUed.  Grant  secures  his  Position 


promptly  breaking  up,  as  an  essential  preliminary,  the  cliques 
and  cabals  which  had  so  long  hindered  the  usefulness  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac — when  the  Lieutenant-General  was  at 
last  ready,  he  moved  across  the  Rapidan,  was  attacked  im- 
petuously by  Lee  with  his  whole  army  before  he  had  fairly 
posted  his  own — "Any  other  man,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "would 
have  been  on  this  side  of  the  Rapidan  after  the  first  three 
days'  fighting" — still  fought — moved  by  the  left  flank — fought 
on — prepared,  after  six  days  very  heavy  work,  as  he  tele- 
graphed the  President,  "to  fight  it  out  on  that  line,  if  it 
took  all  summer" — outgeneralled  Lee  at  Spottsylvania  Court 
House — secured  his  position — and  held  it  till  the  contemplated 
movements  in  other  quarters  should  place  the  prize  he  aimed 
at  within  his  grasp. 

Holding  his  ground,  undeterred  by  an  attempted  diversion, 
in  July,  in  the  shape  of  a  rebel  raid  toward  Washington  and 
an  invasion  of  Maryland — a  favorite  summer  pastime,  in 
those  days,  for  the  Confederates — he  bided  his  time,  his  teeth 
fixed,  and  the  utmost  eiForts  of  his  wily  opponent  could  not 
induce  him  to  relax  that  grim  hold.  Richmond  papers 
sneered  and  scolded  and  abused — proved  that  he  ought  to 
have  acted  entirely  otherwise — asseverated  that  he  was  no 
strategist,  but  simply  a  lucky  blunderer,  a  butcher  on  a  vast 
scale ;  and  rebel  sympathizers  in  the  North  served  up,  in 
talk  and  print,  approved  re-hashes  of  the  same  staple,  and 
were  in  the  highest  dudgeon  that  General  McClellan  was  not 
recalled  instanter  to  save  the  Capital  at  least,  if  not  to  take 
Richmond.  But  Grant  still  held  on — the  teeth  still  set — and 
could  not  be  moved. 

While  this  campaign  was  progressing,  the  President  ad- 
dressed the  following  letter  to  the  Committee  of  Arrangements 
of  a  mass  meeting  in  Xew  York,  which  had  been  called  as  a 
testimonial  of  confidence  in  General  Grant,  and  of  satisfaction 
that  his  efforts  had  been  crowned  with  so  large  a  measure 
of  success : 
19 


290  LIFE    OF   ABEAHAM   LINCOLN. 

President's  Letter.       Grant's  Remarkable  Campaign.      Republican  National  Convention. 

'^Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  June  3d,  1864. 
"  Gentlemen  : — Your  letter  inviting  me  to  be  present  at  a 
mass  meeting  of  the  loyal  citizens  to  be  held  at  New  York 
on  the  4th  instant,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  gratitude 
to  Lieutenant-General  Grant  for  his  signal  services,  was 
received  yesterday.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  attend.  I 
approve,  nevertheless,  whatever  may  tend  to  strengthen  and 
sustain  General  Grant  and  the  noble  armies  now  under  his 
direction.  My  previous  high  estimate  of  General  Grant  has 
been  maintained  and  heightened  by  what  has  occurred  in  the 
remarkable  campaign  he  is  now  conducting  ;  while  the  mag- 
nitude and  difficulty  of  the  task  before  him  do  not  prove  less 
than  I  expected.  He  and  his  brave  soldiers  are  now  in  the 
midst  of  their  great  trial,  and  I  trust  that  at  your  meeting 
you  will  so  shape  your  good  words  that  they  may  turn  to 
men  and  guns  moving  to  his  and  their  support. 

"Yours  truly,  A.Lincoln." 

On  the  *]ih  of  June,  the  Republican  National  Convention 
met  at  Baltimore  for  the  purpose  of  nominating  candidates  for 
the  Presidency  and  Yice-Presidency. 

For  some  time  prior  to  the  assembling  of  this  body,  the 
popular  voice  had  pronounced  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  re- 
nomination  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  State  Legislatures,  mass  meet- 
ings. State  Conventions,  the  large  majority  of  the  loyal  press 
demanded  that  the  man,  to  whose  election,  constitutionally 
effected,  the  rebels  had  refused  to  submit  and  who,  during 
three  years  of  the  most  arduous  labors,  had  evinced  his 
patriotism,  his  ability,  and  his  integrity,  should  have  the  satis- 
faction of  seeing  the  work  commenced  by  himself  as  President 
brought  to  a  successful  completion  while  an  incumbent  of  the 
same  high  office. 

A  few,  however,  in  the  ranks  of  the  loyal  and  patriotic, 
were  not  satisfied  that  the  good  work,  whose  consummation 
they  so  ardently  and  perhaps,  impatiently,  desired,  had  been 


EENOMINATED.  291 


Republican  National  Convention.  The  Nomination.  Platform 

pushed  forward  as  vigorously  and  earnestly  as  it  might  have 
been  under  other  auspices.  A  portion  of  these  favored  the 
postponement  of  the  Convention  till  a  later  day,  after  the 
fourth  of  July  ensuing,  in  the  expectation  that  the  country 
would  be  In  a  better  condition  to  judge  whether,  indeed, 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  the  best  man  for  the  place.  Another 
portion  had  already  assembled  at  Chicago  and  put  in  nomi- 
nation, upon  a  platform  dev^oted  mainly  to  criticisms  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  Administration  without  any  practical  or  pertinent 
suggestion  as  to  the  points  wherein  improvement  was  to  be 
made.  General  Fremont  for  the  Presidency  and  General 
Cochrane  as  Yice-President.  The  former  had  therefore  re- 
signed his  commission  in  the  army,  not  having  been  in  active 
service  for  some  time,  and  accepted  the  nomination  con- 
ditionally that  the  Baltimore  Convention  nominated  uo 
other  candidate  than  Mr.  Lincoln. 

This  opposition,  however,  was  more  apparent  than  real. 
The  general  feeling  throughout  the  country  was  to  support 
that  man  heartily  who  should  secure  the  nomination  of  the 
Republican  Convention,  waiving  all  minor  questions  for  the 
sake  of  the  common  weal. 

On  the  second  day,  the  convention  adopted  by  acclamation 
the  following  platform : 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  the  highest  duty  of  every  American 
citizen  to  maintain  against  all  their  enemies  the  integrity  of 
the  Union  and  the  paramount  authority  of  the  Constitution 
and  laws  of  the  United  States ;  and  that,  laying  aside  all 
differences  of  political  opinion,  we  pledge  ourselves  as  Union 
men,  animated  by  a  common  sentiment,  and  aiming  at  a 
common  object,  to  do  every  thing  in  our  power  to  aid  the 
Government  in  quelling  by  force  of  arms  the  rebellion  now 
raging  agaiust  its  authority,  and  in  bringing  to  the  punish- 
ment due  to  their  crimes,  the  rebels  and  traitors  arrayed 
against  it. 


292  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN". 

Republican  National  Convention.  Platform.  Slavery. 

"Resolved,  That  we  approve  the  determination  of  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  not  to  compromise  with  rebels, 
nor  to  offer  any  terms  of  peace  except  such  as  may  be  based 
upon  an  '  unconditional  surrender'  of  their  hostility  and  a 
return  to  their  just  allegiance  to  the  Constitution  and  laws  of 
the  United  States,  and  that  we  call  upon  the  Government  to 
maintain  this  position  and  to  prosecute  the  war  with  the 
utmost  possible  vigor  to  the  complete  suppression  of  the 
rebellion,  in  full  reliance  upon  the  self-sacrifice,  the  patriotism, 
the  heroic  valor,  and  the  undying  devotion  of  the  American 
people  to  their  country  and  its  free  institutions. 

"Sesolved,  That,  as  Slavery  was  the  cause,  and  now  con- 
stitutes the  strength,  of  this  rebellion,  and  as  it  must  be 
always  and  everywhere  hostile  to  the  principles  of  republican 
government,  justice  and  the  national  safety  demand  its  utter 
and  complete  extirpation  from  the  soil  of  the  Republic  ;  and 
that  we  uphold  and  maintain  the  acts  and  proclamations  by 
which  the  Government,  in  its  own  defence,  has  aimed  a 
death-blow  at  this  gigantic  evil.  We  are  in  favor,  further- 
more, of  such  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution,  to  be  made 
by  the  people  in  conformity  with  its  provisions,  as  shall 
terminate  and  forever  prohibit  the  existence  of  Slavery  within 
the  limits  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States. 

"Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  American  people  are  due 
to  the  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  army  and  of  the  navy,  who 
have  perilled  their  lives  in  defence  of  their  country,  and  in 
vindication  of  the  honor  of  the  flag  ;  that  the  Nation  owes  to 
them  some  permanent  recognition  of  their  patriotism  and  their 
valor,  and  ample  and  permanent  provision  for  those  of  their 
survivors  who  have  received  disabling  and  honorabW  wounds 
in  the  service  of  the  country ;  and  that  the  memories  of  those 
who  have  fallen  in  its  defence  shall  be  held  in  grateful  and 
everlasting  remembrance. 

"Resolved,  That  we  approve  and  applaud  the  practical 
wisdom,  the  unselfish  patriotism,  and  unswerving  fidelity  to 


EENOMINATED.  293 


Kepubliran  National  Convention.  Platform.  Administration  Endorsed 

the  Constitution  and  the  principles  of  American  liberty,  with 
which  Abraham  Lincoln  has  discharged,  under  circumstances 
of  unparalleled  difficulty,  the  great  duties  and  responsibilities 
of  the  presidential  office  ;  that  we  approve  and  indorse,  as 
demanded  by  the  emergency,  and  essential  to  the  preservation 
of  the  Nation,  and  as  within  the  Constitution,  the  measures 
and  acts  which  he  has  adopted  to  defend  the  Nation  agaiupt 
its  open  and  secret  foes ;  that  we  approve  especially  the 
Proclamation  of  Emancipation,  and  the  employment  as  Union 
soldiers  of  men  heretofore  held  in  Slavery ;  and  that  we  have 
full  confidence  in  his  determination  to  carry  these  and  all 
other  constitutional  measures  essential  to  the  salvation  of  the 
country  into  full  and  complete  eifect. 

"Besolved,  That  we  deem  it  essential  to  the  general  welfare 
that  harmony  should  prevail  in  the  National  councils,  and  we 
regard  as  worthy  of  public  confidence  and  official  trust  those 
only  who  cordially  indorse  the  principles  contained  in  those 
resolutions,  and  which  should  characterize  the  administration 
of  the  Government. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Government  owes  to  all  men  employed 
in  its  armies,  without  regard  to  distinction  of  color,  the  full 
protection  of  the  laws  of  war  ;  and  that  any  violation  of  these 
laws  or  of  the  usages  of  civilized  nations  in  the  time  of  war  by 
the  Rebels  now  in  arms,  should  be  made  the  subject  of  full 
and  prompt  redress. 

"Besolved,  That  the  foreign  immigration,  which  in  the  past 
has  added  so  much  to  the  wealth  and  development  of  re- 
sources and  increase  of  power  to  this  Nation,  the  asylum  of 
the  oppressed  of  all  nations,  should  be  fostered  and  encour- 
aged by  a  liberal  and  just  policy. 

"Besolved,  That  we  are  in  favor  of  the  speedy  construction 
of  the  railroad  to  the  Pacific. 

"Besolved,  That  the  national  faith  pledged  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  public  debt  must  be  kept  inviolate,  and  that  for 
this  purpose  we  recommend  economy  and  rigid  responsibility 


294  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM   LIXCOLN". 


Abrabam  LincolnRenominated.  Andrew  Johnson  for  Vice-President. 

in  the  public  expenditures,  and  a  vigorous  and  just  system 
of  taxation ;  that  it  is  the  duty  of  every  loyal  State  to  sustain 
the  credit  and  promote  the  use  of  the  national  currency. 

"Resolved,  That  we  approve  the  position  taken  by  the 
Government  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  can  never 
regard  with  indifference  the  attempt  of  any  European  power 
to  overthrow  by  force,  or  to  supplant  by  fraud  the  institu- 
tions of  any  republican  government  on  the  Western  Conti- 
nent ;  and  that  they  will  view  with  extreme  jealousy,  as 
menacing  to  the  peace  and  independence  of  this  our  country 
the  efforts  of  any  such  power  to  obtain  new  footholds  for 
monarchical  governments,  sustained  by  a  foreign  military 
force  in  near  proximity  to  the  United  States." 

Upon  the  first  ballot  for  a  candidate  for  President,  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  received  the  vote  of  every  State,  except  Mis- 
souri, whose  delegates  voted  for  Gen.  Grant.  The  nomina- 
tion having,  on  motion  of  a  Missourian,  been  made  unanimous, 
a  scene  of  the  wildest  enthusiasm  followed,  the  whole  conven- 
tion being  on  their  feet  shouting,  and  the  band  playing  "  Hail 
Columbia." 

For  Yice-President,  the  following  names  were  presented  : 
Andrew  Johnson,  of  Tennessee  ;  Hannibal  Hamlin,  of  Maine  ; 
Gen.  L.  H.  Rousseau,  of  Kentucky  ;  and  Daniel  S.  Dickinson, 
of  New  York. 

As  the  vote  proceeded,  it  was  soon  apparent  that  Andrew 
Johnson  was  to  be  the  nominee  ;  and  before  the  result  was 
announced  the  various  States  whose  delegations  had  been 
divided,  commenced  changing  their  votes,  and  went  unani- 
mously for  Mr.  Johnson,  amid  the  greatest  enthusiasm. 

On  the  9th  of  June,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  waited  on  by  a  com- 
mittee of  the  convention,  and  notified  of  his  nomination  by 
the  chairman,  ex-Governor  Dennison,  of  Ohio,  who,  in  the 
course  of  his  address,  said  : 

"  I  need  not  say  to  you,  sir,  that  the  Convention,  in  thus 


EENOMINATED.  295 


Notified  by  the  Committee.  President's  Reply.  Amendment  to  the  Constiljition. 

unanimously  nominating  you  for  re-election,  but  gave  utter- 
ance to  the  almost  universal  voice  of  the  loyal  people  of  the 
country.  To  doubt  of  your  triumphant  election  would  be 
little  short  of  abandoning  the  hope  of  a  final  suppression  of 
the  rebellion  and  the  restoration  of  the  Government  over  the 
insurgent  States.  Neither  the  Convention  nor  those  repre- 
sented by  that  body  entertained  any  doubt  as  to  the  final  re- 
sult, under  your  administration,  sustained  by  the  loyal  people, 
and  by  our  noble  army  and  gallant  navy.  Neither  did  the 
Convention,  nor  do  this  Committee  doubt  the  speedy  suppres- 
sion of  this  most  wicked  and  unprovoked  rebellion." 

In  reply  the  President  said  : 

"  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  op  the  Committee  : — I 
will  neither  conceal  my  gratification  nor  restrain  the  expres- 
sion of  my  gratitude  that  the  Union  people,  through  their 
Convention,  in  the  continued  effort  to  save  and  advance  the 
nation,  have  deemed  me  not  unworthy  to  remain  in  my 
present  position.  I  know  no  reason  to  doubt  that  I  shall 
accept  the  nomination  tendered  ;  and  yet,  perhaps,  I  should 
not  declare  definitely  before  reading  and  considei'ing  what  is 
called  the  platform. 

"  I  will  say  now,  however,  that  I  approve  the  declaration 
in  favor  of  so  amending  the  Constitution  as  to  prohibit  slavery 
throughout  the  nation.  When  the  people  in  revolt,  with  the 
hundred  days  explicit  notice  that  they  could  within  those 
days  resume  their  allegiance  without  the  overthrow  of  their 
institutions,  and  that  they  could  not  resume  it  afterward, 
elected  to  stand  out,  such  an  amendment  of  the  Constitution 
as  is  now  proposed  became  a  fitting  and  necessary  conclusion 
to  the  final  success  of  the  Union  cause. 

"  Such  alone  can  meet  and  cover  all  cavils.     I  now  per- 
ceive its  importance,  and  embrace  it.     In  the  joint  name  of 
Liberty  and  Union  let  us  labor  to  give  it  legal  form  and  prac 
tical  effect." 


296  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LIJ^COLN. 

National  Union  League.  President's  Reply.  Delegation  fiom  Ohio. 

Od  the  following  day,  in  reply  to  a  congratulatory  address 
from  a  deputation  of  the  National  Union  League,  the  Presi- 
dent said  : 


"  Gentlemen  : — I  can  only  say  in  response  to  the  remarks 
of  your  Chairman,  I  suppose,  that  I  am  very  grateful  for  the 
renewed  confidence  which  has  been  accorded  to  me,  both  by 
the  Convention  and  by  the  National  League.  I  am  not  in- 
sensible at  all  to  the  personal  compliment  there  is  in  this ; 
yet  I  do  not  allow  myself  to  believe  that  any  but  a  small  por- 
tion of  it  is  to  be  appropriated  as  a  personal  compliment 
to  me. 

"  The  Convention  and  the  Nation,  I  am  assured,  are  alike 
animated  by  a  higher  view  of  the  interests  of  the  country  for 
the  present  and  the  great  future,  and  that  part  I  am  entitled 
to  appropriate  as  a  compliment  is  only  that  which  I  may  lay 
hold  of,  as  being  the  opinion  of  the  Convention  and  the 
League,  that  I  am  not  entirely  unworthy  to  be  entrusted  with 
the  place  I  have  occupied  for  the  last  three  years. 

"  I  have  not  permitted  myself,  gentlemen,  to  conclude  that 
I  am  the  best  man  in  the  country  ;  but  I  am  reminded  in  this 
connection,  of  the  story  of  an  old  Dutch  farmer,  who  remarked 
to  a  companion  once,  that  '  it  was  not  best  to  swop  horses 
when  crossing  streams.' " 

Prolonged  and  tumultuous  laughter  followed  this  last  char- 
acteristic remark,  given  with  that  telling  force  which  only 
those  who  had  the  privilege  of  meeting  Mr.  Lincoln  in  his 
moments  of  relaxation  and  semi-abandon  can  appreciate. 

Having  been  serenaded,  on  the  9th,  by  the  delegation  from 
Ohio,  he  addressed  the  assemblage  as  follows  : 

"  Gentlemen  : — I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  this 
compliment.  I  have  just  beeu  saying,  and  will  repeat  it, 
that  the  hardest  of  all  speeches  I  have  to  answer  is  a  sere- 
nade.    T  never  knew  what  to  say  on  such  occasions. 


EENOMINATED.  297 


Delegation  from  Ohio.  President's  Reply.  Reply  to  Ohio  Troops. 

"  I  suppose  yoii  have  done  me  this  kindness  in  connection 
with  the  action  of  the  Baltimore  Convention,  which  has  re- 
cently taken  place,  and  with  which,  of  course,  I  am  very  well 
satisfied  What  we  want  still  more  than  Baltimore  Conven- 
tions   or   "Presidential   elections,    is   success   under    General 

Grant. 

"  I  propose  that  you  constantly  bear  in  mind  that  the  sup- 
port you  owe  to  the  brave  officers  and  soldiers  in  the  field  is 
O'f  the  very  first  importance,  and  we  should  therefore  lend  all 
our  energies  to  that  point. 

"  Now,  without  detaining  you  any  longer,  I  propose  that 
you  help  me  to  close  up  what  I  am  now  saying  with  three 
rousing  cheers  for  General  Grant  and  the  officers  and 
soldiers  under  his  command." 

And  the  cheers  were  given  with  a  will,  the  President 
leading  off  and  waving  his  hat  with  as  much  earnestness  as 
the  most  enthusiastic  individual  present. 

To  a  regiment  of  Ohio  troops,  one  hundred  days  men,  vol- 
unteers for  the  emergency  then  upon  the  country,  who  called, 
on  the  11th,  upon  Mr.  Lincoln,  he  spoke  as  follows : 

"  Soldiers  : — I  understand  you  have  just  come  from  Ohio 
— come  to  help  us  in  this  the  nation's  day  of  trial,  and  also 
of  its  hopes.  I  thank  you  for  your  promptness  in  responding 
to  the  call  for  troops.  Your  services  were  never  needed 
more  than  now.  I  know  not  where  you  are  going.  You 
may  stay  here  and  take  the  places  of  those  who  will  be  sent 
to  the  front;  or  you  may  go  there  yourselves.  Wherever 
you  go,  I  know  you  will  do  your  best.  Again  I  thank  you 
Good-bye. 


298  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

PUiladelphia  Sanitary  Fair.  President's  Speech.  War  Terrible. 


CHAPTER  XX 


RECONSTRUCTION. 


President's  Speech  at  Philadelphia — Philadelphia  Fair — Correspondence  with  Committee 
of  National  Convention — Proclamation  of  Martial  Law  in  Kentucky — Question  of  Re- 
construction— President's  Proclamation  on  the  subject — Congressional  Plan. 

On  the  16th  of  June,  the  President  was  present  at  a  Fair 
held  in  Philadelphia  in  aid  of  that  noble  organization, 
the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission,  which  was  productive 
of  so  much  good  during  the  war,  placing  as  it  did,  the 
arrangements  for  the  care  and  comfort  of  our  brave  boys  on 
a  basis  which  no  nation — not  France,  not  England,  though 
experienced  in  war,  and  generally  of  admirable  promptitude 
in  availing  themselves  of  all  facilities  to  its  successful  pro- 
secution— had  ever  before  been  able  to  secure. 

On  the  occasion  of  this  visit,  Philadelphia  witnessed 
one  of  her  largest  crowds.  Not  less  than  fifteen  thousand 
people  were  straining  to  get  a  glimpse  of  their  beloved 
President  at  one  and  the  same  moment. 

After  the  customary  hand-shaking,  borne  by  the  victim 
with  contagious  good  humor,  a  collation  was  served,  at 
the  close  of  which,  in  acknowledgment  of  a  toast  to  his 
health,  drank  with  the  heartiest  sincerity  by  all  present,  the 
President  said  : 

"  I  suppose  that  this  toast  is  intended  to  open  the  way  for 
me  to  say  something.  "War  at  the  best  is  terrible ;  and 
this  of  ours  in  its  magnitude  and  duration  is  one  of  the  most 
terrible  the  world  has  ever  known.  It  has  deranged  business 
totally  in  many  places,  and  perhaps  in  all. 

"  It  tias  destroyed  property,  destroyed  life,  and  ruined 
homes.     It  has  produced  a  national  debt  and  a  degree  of 


EECOXSTUCTION'.  299 


Sanitary  and  Christian  Commissions.  President's  Prediction. 

taxation  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  this  country.  It  has 
cauaed  mourning  among  us  until  the  heavens  may  almost  be 
said  to  be  hung  in  black.  And  yet  it  continues.  It  has  had 
accompaniments  not  before  known  in  the  history  of  the 
world. 

"  I  mean  the  Sanitary  and  Christian  Commissions,  with 
their  labors  for  the  relief  of  the  soldiers,  and  the  Volunteer 
Refreshment  Saloon,  understood  better  by  those  who  hear  me 
than  by  myself.  These  Fairs,  too,  first  began  at  Chicago, 
then  held  in  Boston,  Cincinnati,  and  other  cities. 

"  The  motive  and  object  which  lies  at  the  bottom  of  them 
is  worthy  of  the  most  that  we  can  do  for  the  soldier  who 
goes  to  fight  the  battles  of  his  country.  By  the  fair  and 
tender  hand  of  woman  is  much,  very  much,  done  for  the 
soldier,  continually  reminding  him  of  the  care  and  thought  of 
him  at  home.  The  knowledge  that  he  is  not  forgotten  is 
grateful  to  his  heart. 

"And  the  view  of  these  institutions  is  worthy  of  thought. 
They  are  voluntary  contributions,  giving  proof  that  the 
national  resources  are  not  at  all  exhausted,  and  that  the 
national  patriotism  will  sustain  us  through  all.  It  is  a  perti- 
nent question — when  is  this  war  to  end  ? 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  name  a  day  when  it  will  end,  lest 
the  end  should  not  come  at  the  given  time.  "We  accepted 
this  war,  and  did  not  begin  it.  We  accepted  it  for  an  object, 
and  when  that  object  is  accomplished,  the  war  will  end  ; 
and  I  hope  to  God  it  will  never  end  until  that  object 
is  accomplished. 

"We  are  going  through  with  our  task,  so  far  as  I  am 
concerned,  if  it  takes  us  three  years  longer.  I  have  not  been 
in  the  habit  of  making  predictions,  but  I  am  almost  tempted 
now  to  hazard  one.  I  will.  It  is  that  Grant  is  this  evening 
in  a  position,  with  Meade  and  Hancock  of  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  can  never  be  dislodged  by  the  enemy  until  Rich- 
mond is  taken. 


300  LIFE   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Speech  at  the  Sanitary  Fair.  New  York  Committee. 

"  If  I  shall  discover  that  General  Grant  may  be  facilitated 
in  the  capture  of  Richmond  by  rapidly  pouring  to  him 
a  large  number  of  armed  men  at  the  briefest  notice,  will  you 
go?  [Cries  of  'Yes.']  Will  you  march  on  with  him? 
[Cries  of  '  Yes,  yes.'] 

"  Then  I  shall  call  upon  you  when  it  is  necessary." 

The  following  correspondence  passed  between  Mr.  Lincoln 
and  the  Committee  of  the  National  Convention  relative  to  his 
nomination : 

"New  York,  June  14,  1864. 
"  Hon.  Abraham  Lincoln  : 

"  Sir  : — The  National  Union  Convention,  which  assembled 
in  Baltimore  on  June  T,  1864,  has  instructed  us  to  inform  you 
that  you  were  nominated  with  enthusiastic  unanimity,  for  the 
Presidency  of  the  United  States  for  four  years  from  the 
4th  of  March  next. 

"  The  resolutions  of  the  Convention,  which  we  have 
already  had  thfe  honor  of  placing  in  your  hands,  are  a 
full  and  clear  statement  of  the  principles  which  inspired  its 
action,  and  which,  as  we  believe,  the  great  body  of  Union  men 
in  the  country  heartily  approve.  Whether  those  resolutions 
express  the  national  gratitude  to  our  soldiers  and  sailors,  or 
the  national  scorn  of  compromise  with  rebels,  and  consequent 
dishonor  ;  or  the  patriotic  duty  of  Union  and  success  ;  whether 
they  approve  the  Proclamation  of  Emancipation,  the  Consti- 
tutional amendment,  the  employment  of  former  slaves  as 
Union  soldiers,  or  the  solemn  obligation  of  the  Government 
promptly  to  redress  the  wrongs  of  every  soldier  of  the 
Union,  of  whatever  color  or  race  ;  whether  they  declare  the 
inviolability  of  the  pledged  faith  of  the  nation,  or  offer 
the  national  hospitality  to  the  oppressed  of  every  land, 
or  urge  the  union,  by  railroad,  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
oceans ;  whether  they  recommend  public  economy  and  a 
vigorous   taxation,    or   assert  the    fixed   popular   opposition 


EECONSTRUCTION.  301 

Letter  of  the  New  York  Committee.  The  People's  Platform. 

to  the  establishment  of  avowed  force  of  foreign  monarchies 
in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  United  States,  or 
declare  that  those  only  are  worthy  of  official  trust  who 
approve  unreservedly  the  views  and  policy  indicated  in 
the  resolutions — they  were  equally  hailed  with  the  heartiness 
of  profound  conviction. 

"Believing  with  you,  sir,  that  this  is  the  people's  war  for 
the  maintenance  of  a  government  which  you  have  justly  de- 
scribed as  '  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people,'  we 
are  very  sure  that  you  will  be  glad  to  know,  not  only  from 
the  resolutions  themselves,  but  from  the  singular  harmony 
and  enthusiasm  with  which  they  were  adopted,  how  warm 
is  the  popular  welcome  of  every  measure  in  the  prosecution 
of  the  war,  which  is  as  vigorous,  unmistakable,  and  unfalter- 
ing as  the  National  purpose  itself.  No  right,  for  instance,  is 
so  precious  and  sacred  to  the  American  heart  as  that  of  per- 
sonal liberty.  Its  violation  is  regarded  with  just,  instant,  and 
universal  jealousy.  Yet  in  this  hour  of  peril  every  faithful 
citizen  concedes  that,  for  the  sake  of  National  existence  and 
the  common  welfare,  individual  liberty  may,  as  the  Constitu- 
tution  provides  in  case  of  rebellion,  be  sometimes  summarily 
constrained,  asking  only  with  painful  anxiety  that  in  every 
instance,  and  to  the  least  detail,  that  absolutely  necessary 
power  shall  not  be  hastily  or  unwisely  exercised. 

"  We  believe,  sir,  that  the  honest  will  of  the  Union  men  of 
the  country  was  never  more  truly  represented  than  in  this 
Convention.  Their  purpose  we  believe  to  be  the  overthrow 
of  armed  rebels  in  the  field,  and  the  security  of  permanent 
peace  and  Union  by  liberty  and  justice  under  the  Constitu- 
tion. That  these  results  are  to  be  achieved  amid  cruel  per- 
plexities, they  are  fully  aware.  That  they  are  to  be  reached 
only  by  cordial  unanimity  of  counsel,  is  undeniable.  That 
good  men  may  sometimes  diflTer  as  to  the  means  and  the  time, 
they  know.  That  in  the  conduct  of  all  human  affairs  the  highest 
duty  is  to  determine,  in  the  angry  conflict  of  passion,  how 


302  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Letter  of  the  New  York  Committee.        Nomination  Accepted.  Platform  Approved, 


much  good  maybe  practically  accomplished,  is  their  sincere  per- 
suasion. They  have  watched  your  official  course,  therefore, 
with  unflagging  attention  ;  and  amid  the  bitter  taunts  of  eager 
friends  and  the  fierce  denunciations  of  enemies,  now  moving 
too  fast  for  some,  now  too  slowly  for  others,  they  have  seen 
3^ou  throughout  this  tremendous  contest  patient,  sagacious, 
faithful,  just,  leaning  upon  the  heart  of  the  great  mass  of  the 
people,  and  satisfied  to  be  moved  by  its  mighty  pulsation. 

"  It  is  for  this  reason  that,  long  before  the  Convention  met, 
the  popular  instincts  had  plainly  indicated  you  as  its  candi- 
date ;  and  the  Convention,  therefore,  merely  recorded  the 
popular  will.  Your  character  and  career  proves  your  un- 
swerving fidelity  to  the  cardinal  principles  of  American 
Liberty  and  of  the  American  Constitution.  In  the  name  of 
that  Liberty  and  Constitution,  sir,  we  earnestly  request  your 
acceptance  of  this  nomination ;  reverently  commending  our 
beloved  country,  and  you,  its  Chief  Magistrate,  with  all  its 
brave  sons  who,  on  sea  and  land,  are  faithfully  defending  the 
good  old  American  cause  of  equal  rights,  to  the  blessings  of 
Almighty  God,  we  are,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  friends 
and  fellow-citizens. 

' '  William  Dennison,  Ohio,  Chairman. 

"And  signed  by  the  Committee.''^ 

''  Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  June  2Tth,  1863. 

"  Hon.  William  Dennison  and  others : 

"A  Committee  of  the  National  Union  Convention  : 

"  Gentlemen  : — Your  letter  of  the  14th  inst,  formally 
notifying  me  that  I  had  been  nominated  by  the  Convention 
you  represent  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States  for  four 
years  from  the  4th  of  March  next,  has  been  received.  The 
nomination  is  gratefully  accepted,  as  the  Resolutions  of  the 
Convention — called  the  Platform — are  heartily  approved. 

"While  the  resolution  in  regard  to  the  supplanting  of  Re- 
publican Government  upon  the  Western   Continent  is  fully 


KECONSTRUCTION.  303 


Letter  of  Acceptance.  Martial  Law  in  Kentucky. 

concurred  in,  there  might  be  misunderstanding  were  I  not  to 
say  that  the  position  of  the  Government  in  relation  to  the 
action  of  France  in  Mexico,  as  assumed  through  the  State 
Department  and  endorsed  by  the  Convention,  among  the 
measures  and  acts  of  the  Executive,  will  be  faithfully  main- 
tained so  long  as  the  state  of  facts  shall  leave  that  position 
pertinent  and  applicable. 

"  I  am  especially  gratified  that  the  soldiers  and  seamen 
were  not  forgotten  by  the  Convention,  as  they  forever  must 
and  will  be  remembered  by  the  grateful  country  for  whose 
salvation  they  devote  their  lives. 

"  Thanking  you  for  the  kind  and  complimentary  terms  in 
which  you  have  communicated  the  nomination  and  other  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Convention,  I  subscribe  myself, 

"  Your  obedient  servant,  Abraham  Lincoln." 

On  the  5th  of  July,  appeared  the  following  proclamation, 
ordering  martial  law  in  Kentucky  : 

"  Whereas,  By  a  proclamation,  which  was  issued  on  the 
15th  day  of  April,  1861,  the  President  of  the  United  States 
announced  and  declared  that  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
had  been  for  some  time  past,  and  then  were,  opposed  and  the 
execution  thereof  obstructed,  in  certain  States  therein  men- 
tioned, by  combinations  too  powerful  to  be  suppressed  by  the 
ordinary  course  of  judicial  proceedings,  or  by  the  power 
vested  in  the  marshals  by  law  ;  and, 

"Whereas,  Immediately  after  the  issuing  of  the  said  pro- 
clamation, the  land  and  naval  force  of  the  United  States  were 
put  into  activity  to  suppress  the  said  insurrection  and  rebel- 
lion ;  and, 

"Whereas,  The  Congress  of  the  United  States,  by  an  act 
approved  on  the  3d  day  of  March,  1863,  did  enact  that  during 
the  said  rebellion  the  President  of  the  United  States,  when- 
ever in  his  judgment  the  public  safety  may  require  it,  is 
authorized  to  suspend  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  cor- 


304  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Prteident's  Proclamation.  Martial  Law  iu  Kentucky 

pus  in  any  case  throughout  the  United  States,  or  any  part 
thereof;  and, 

"  Whereas,  The  said  insurrection  and  rebellion  still  con- 
tinues, endangering  the  existence  of  the  Constitution  and 
Government  of  the  United  States  ;  and, 

"  Whereas,  The  military  forces  of  the  United  States  are 
now  actively  engaged  in  suppressing  the  said  insurrection  and 
rebellion  in  various  parts  of  the  States  where  the  said  rebel- 
lion has  been  successful  in  obstructing  the  laws  and  public 
authorities,  especially  in  the  States  of  Virginia  and  Georgia ; 
and, 

"Whereas,  On  the  15th  day  of  September  last,  the  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States  duly  issued  his  proclamation, 
wherein  he  declared  that  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas 
corpus  should  be  suspended  throughout  the  United  States,  in 
cases  where,  by  the  authority  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  the  military,  naval,  and  civil  officers  of  the  United 
States,  or  any  of  them,  hold  persons  under  their  command  or 
in  their  custody  either  as  prisoners  of  war,  spies,  or  aiders  or 
abettors  of  the  enemy,  or  officers,  soldiers,  or  seamen,  enrolled, 
or  drafted,  or  mustered,  or  enlisted  in,  or  belonging  to,  the 
land  or  naval  forces  of  the  United  States,  or  as  deserters 
therefrom,  or  otherwise  amenable  to  military  law  or  the  rules 
and  articles  of  war,  or  the  rules  and  regulations  prescribed 
for  the  military  or  naval  service  by  authority  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  or  for  resisting  a  draft,  or  for  any  other 
oifenee  against  the  military  or  naval  service  ;  and, 

"Whereas,  Many  citizens  of  the  State  of  Kentucky  have 
joined  the  forces  of  the  insurgents,  have  on  several  occasions 
entered  the  said  State  of  Kentucky  in  large  force,  and  not 
without  aid  and  comfort  furnished  by  disaffected  and  disloyal 
citizens  of  the  United  States  residing  therein,  have  not  only 
greatly  disturbed  the  public  peace,  but  have  overborne  the 
civil  authorities  and  made  flagrant  civil  war,  destroying 
property  and  life  in  various  parts  of  the  State  ;  and, 


EECONSTRUCTION.  805 


Piesideut's  Proclainatioa.  Martial  Law  iu  Kentucliy. 

"Whereas,  It  has  been  made  known  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States  by  the  officers  commanding  the  National 
armies,  that  combinations  have  been  formed  in  the  said  State 
of  Kentucky,  with  a  purpose  of  inciting  the  rebel  forces  to 
venew  the  said  operations  of  civil  war  within  the  said  State, 
and  thereby  to  embarrass  the  United  States  armies  now  oper- 
ating in  the  said  States  of  Virginia  and  Georgia,  and  even  to 
endanger  their  safety ; 

"  Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States,  by  virtue  of  the  authority  vested  in  me  by  the 
Constitution  and  laws,  do  hereby  declare,  that  in  my  judg- 
ment the  public  safety  especially  requii'es  that  the  suspension 
of  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  so  proclaimed 
in  the  said  proclamation  of  the  fifteenth  of  September,  1863, 
be  made  effectual,  and  be  duly  enforced  in  and  throughout  the 
said  State  of  Kentucky,  and  that  martial  law  be  for  the  pre- 
sent ordered  therein.  I  do  therefore  hereby  require  of  the 
military  officers  in  the  said  State  that  the  privilege  of  the 
writ  of  habeas  corpus  be  effectually  suspended  within  the  said 
State,  accoi'ding  to  the  aforesaid  proclamation,  and  that  mar- 
tial law  be  established  therein,  to  take  effect  from  the  date  of 
this  proclamation,  the  said  suspension  and  establishment  o{ 
martial  law  to  continue  until  this  proclamation  shall  be  re- 
voked or  modified,  but  not  beyond  the  period  when  the  said 
rebellion  shall  have  been  suppressed  or  come  to  an  end.  And 
I  do  hereby  require  and  command  as  well  military  officers  as 
all  civil  officers  and  authorities  existing  or  found  within  the 
said  State  of  Kentucky,  to  take  notice  of  this  proclamation 
and  to  give  full  effect  to  the  same.  The  martial  law  herein 
proclaimed,  and  the  things  in  that  respect  herein  ordered, 
will  not  be  deemed  or  taken  to  interfere  with  the  holding  of 
elections,  or  with  the  proceedings  of  the  Constitutional  Legis- 
lature of  Kentucky,  or  with  the  administration  of  justice  in 
the  courts  of  law  existing  therein  between  citizens  of  the 
United  States  in  suits  or  proceedings  which  do  not  affect  the 
20 


306  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLX. 

Martial  Law  in  Kentucky.  President's  Proclamation.  Recoustruction. 

military  operations  or  tbe  constituted  authorities  of  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States. 

"In  witness  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  fifth  day  of  July, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-four,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  the 
eighty-eighth. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

The  question  as  to  what  principles  should  be  adopted  in 
reconstructing  the  rebel  States,  as  fast  as  the  insurrection 
within  their  limits  should  be  suppressed,  had  already,  as  re- 
marked upon  a  former  page,  presented  itself  as  one  to  be  met 
and  disposed  of.  Congress  having,  at  almost  the  last  moment 
of  its  session,  passed  a  bill  intended  to  meet  this  case,  the 
President  issued  the  following  proclamation,  on  the  9th  of 
July,  practically  approving  the  same  and  accepting  its  spirit, 
but  making  exception  in  the  case  of  Louisiana  and  Arkansas, 
which  States  had  been  reorganized  according  to  the  spirit  and 
intent  of  a  previous  proclamation,  making  the  will  of  one- 
tenth  of  the  voters  of  a  State  sufficient  for  its  return  to  alle- 
giance— the  bill  under  notice  requiring  the  votes  of  a  majority  : 

"  Whereas,  At  the  last  session,  Congress  passed  a  bill  to 
guarantee  to  certain  States  whose  Governments  have  been 
usurped  or  overthrown,  a  republican  form  of  government,  a 
copy  of  which  is  hereunto  annexed ;  and, 

"  Whereas,  The  said  bill  was  presented  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States  for  his  approval,  less  than  one  hour 
before  the  sine  die  adjournment  of  said  session,  and  was  not 
signed  by  him  ;  and, 

"  Whereas,  The  said  bill  contains,  among  other  things,  a 
Dlan  for  restoring  the  States  in  rebellion  to  the  proper  prac- 


RECONSTRUCTION.  807 


Piesiilent's  Proclamation.  Louisiana  and  Arkansas. 

tical  relation  in  the  Union,  which  plan  presents  the  sense  of 
Congress  upon  that  subject,  and  which  plan  it  is  now  thought 
fit  to  lay  before  the  people  for  their  consideration  : 

"Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States,  do  proclaim,  declare,  and  make  known,  that, 
while  I  am,  as  I  was  in  December  last,  when  by  proclama- 
tion I  propounded  a  plan  for  restoration,  unprepared,  by  a 
formal  approval  of  this  bill,  to  be  inflexibly  committed  to  any 
single  plan  of  restoration,  and  while  I  am  also  unprepared 
to  declare  that  the  Free  State  Constitutions  and  Governments 
already  adopted  and  installed  in  Arkansas  and  Louisiana  shall 
be  set  aside  and  held  for  naught,  thereby  repelling  and  dis- 
couraging the  loyal  citizens  who  have  set  up  the  same,  as  to 
further  effort,  or  to  declare  a  constitutional  competency  in 
Congress  to  establish  slavery  in  States,  but  am  at  the  same 
time  sincerely  hoping  and  expecting  that  a  constitutional 
amendment  abolishing  slavery  throughout  the  nation  may  be 
adopted  ;  nevertheless  I  am  fully  satisfied  with  the  system  of 
restoration  contained  in  the  bill  as  one  very  proper  plan  for 
the  loyal  people  of  any  State  choosing  to  adopt  it,  and  that 
I  am  and  at  all  times  shall  be  prepared  to  give  the  Executive 
aid  and  assistance  to  any  such  people,  so  soon  as  the  military 
resistance  to  the  United  States  shall  have  been  suppressed  in 
any  such  State,  and  the  people  thereof  shall  have  suSiciently 
returned  to  their  obedience  to  the  Constitution  and  the  laws 
of  the  United  States,  in  which  cases  military  Governors  will 
be  appointed,  with  directions  to  proceed  according  to  the  bill. 

"  In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand, 
and  caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this  eighth  day  of 
July,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty  four,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States 
of  America  the  eighty-ninth. 

"By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 


308  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Reconstruction  Bill.  Provisional  Governor.  His  Duties. 

The  following  is  the  bill,  a  copy  of  which  was  annexed  to 
the  proclamation  : 

"A  Bill  to  guarantee  to  certain  States  whose  Governments 
have  been  overthrown  or  usurped,  a  Republican  form  of 
Government. 

"  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  Congress  assembled,  That 
in  the  States  declared  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States, 
the  President  shall,  bj  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate,  appoint  for  each  a  Provisional  Governor,  whose 
pay  and  emoluments  shall  not  exceed  those  of  a  Brigadier 
General  of  Volunteers,  who  shall  be  charged  with  the 
civil  administration  of  such  State,  until  a  State  Government 
therein  shall  be  recognized  as  hereinafter  provided. 

"  Section  2.  And  he  it  further  enacted,  That  so  soon 
as  the  military  resistance  to  the  United  States  shall  have  been 
suppressed  in  any  such  State,  and  the  people  thereof  shall 
have  sufiSciently  returned  to  their  obedience  to  the  Constitu- 
tion and  laws  of  the  United  States,  the  Provisional  Governor 
shall  direct  the  Marshal  of  the  United  States,  as  speedily  as 
may  be,  to  name  a  sufficient  number  of  deputies,  and  \o 
enroll  all  white  male  citizens  of  the  United  States,  resident 
m  the  State,  in  their  respective  counties,  and  to  require  each 
one  to  take  the  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  in  his  enrollment  to  designate  those  who  take  and 
those  who  refuse  to  take  that  oath,  which  rolls  shall  be  forth- 
with returned  to  the  Provisional  Governor ;  and  if  the 
persons  taking  that  oath  shall  amount  to  a  majority  of 
the  persons  enrolled  in  the  State,  he  shall,  by  proclamation, 
invite  the  loyal  people  of  the  State  to  elect  delegates  to  a 
Convention,  charged  to  declare  the  will  of  the  people  of  the 
State,  relative  to  the  reestablishment  of  a  State  Government 
subject  to,  and  in  conformity  with  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States. 


RECONSTRUCTIOISr.  309 


Reconstruction  Bill.  The  Constitution.  Votes  for  Delegates 

"  Section  3.  That  the  Convention  shall  consist  of  as  many- 
members  as  both  Houses  of  the  last  Constitutional  State 
Legislature,  apportioned  by  the  Provisional  Governor  among 
the  counties,  parishes,  or  districts  of  the  State,  in  proportion 
to  the  v>^hite  population  returned  as  electors  by  the  Marshal, 
in  compliance  with  the  provisions  of  this  Act.  The  Pro- 
visional Governor  shall,  by  proclamation,  declare  the  number 
of  delegates  to  be  elected  by  each  county,  parish,  or  election 
district ;  name  a  day  of  election  not  less  than  thirty  days 
thereafter;  designate  the  place  of  voting  in  each  county, 
parish,  or  election  district,  conforming  as  nearly  as  may 
be  convenient,  to  the  places  used  in  the  State  elections 
next  preceding  the  rebellion  ;  appoint  one  or  more  Commis- 
sioners to  hold  the  election  at  each  place  of  voting,  and  pro- 
vide an  adequate  force  to  keep  the  peace  during  the  election. 

"  Section  4.  That  the  delegates  shall  be  elected  by  the 
loyal  white  male  citizens  of  the  United  States,  of  the  age  of 
twenty-one  yeai'S,  and  resident  at  the  time  in  the  county, 
parish,  or  election  district  in  which  they  shall  offer  to 
vote,  and  enrolled  as  aforesaid,  or  absent  in  the  military 
service  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  take  and  subscribe 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States  in  the  form  con- 
tained in  the  Act  of  Congress  of  July  2,  1862 ;  and  all  such 
citizens  of  the  United  States  who  are  in  the  military  service 
of  the  United  States,  shall  vote  at  the  head-quarters  of  theii 
respective  commands,  under  such  regulations  as  may  be  pre- 
scribed by  the  Provisional  Governor  for  the  taking  and  return 
of  their  votes ;  but  no  person  who  has  held  or  exercised  any 
office,  civil  or  military,  State  or  Confederate,  under  the  rebel 
usurpation,  or  who  has  voluntarily  borne  arms  against  the 
United  States,  shall  vote  or  be  eligible  to  be  elected  as  dele- 
gate at  such  election. 

"  Section  5.  That  the  said  Commissioners,  or  either  of 
them,  shall  hold  the  election  in  conformity  with  this  Act,  and 
so   far   as   may   be   consistent   therewith,    shall   proceed   in 


310  LIFE    OF   ABEAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Reconstruction  Bill.  Who  shall  Vote.  Exceptions. 

the  manner  used  in  the  State  prior  to  the  rebellion.  The 
oath  of  allegiance  shall  be  taken  and  subscribed  on  the  poll- 
book  in  the  form  above  described,  but  every  person  known  by 
or  proved  to  the  Commissioners  to  have  held  or  exercised  any 
office,  civil  or  military.  State  or  Confederate,  under  the  rebel 
usurpation,  or  to  have  voluntarily  borne  arms  against  the 
United  States,  shall  be  excluded,  though  he  offer  to  take  the 
oath ;  and  in  case  any  person  who  shall  have  borne  arras 
against  the  United  States  shall  offer  to  vote,  he  shall  be 
deemed  to  have  boi'ne  arms  voluntarily,  unless  he  shall  prove 
the  contrary  by  the  testimony  of  a  qualified  voter.  The  poll- 
book,  showing  the  name  and  oath  of  each  voter,  shall 
be  returned  to  the  Provisional  Governor  by  the  Com- 
missioner of  elections,  or  the  one  acting,  and  the  Provisional 
Governor  shall  canvass  such  return,  and  declare  the  person 
having  the  highest  number  of  votes  elected. 

"  Section  6.  That  the  Provisional  Governor  shall,  by 
proclamation,  convene  the  delegates  elected-  as  aforesaid,  at 
the  Capital  of  the  State,  on  a  day  not  more  than  three  months 
after  the  election,  fixing  at  least  thirty  days'  notice  of  such 
day.  In  case  the  said  Capital  shall  in  his  judgment  be  unfit, 
he  shall  in  his  proclamation  appoint  another  place.  He  shall 
preside  over  the  deliberations  of  the  Convention,  and  ad- 
minister to  each  delegate,  before  taking  his  seat  in  the 
Convention,  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States  in 
the  form  above  prescribed. 

"  Section  Y.  That  the  Convention  shall  declare,  on  behalf 
of  the  people  of  the  State,  their  submission  to  the  Constitu- 
tion and  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  shall  adopt  the 
following  provisions,  hereby  prescribed  by  the  United  States 
in  the  execution  of  the  Constitutional  duty  to  guarantee  a 
republican  form  of  government  to  every  State,  and  incor- 
porate them  in  the  Constitution  of  the  State  ;  that  is  to  say : 

"First.  No  person  who  has  held  or  exercised  any  office, 
civil  or  military,  except  offices  merely  ministerial,  and  mill- 


EECOXSTRUCTION,  311 


Reconstniction  Bill.  Involuntary  Servitude  Prohibited.  No  Rebel  Debt  P.iid. 

tary  offices  below  the  grade  of  Colonel,  State  or  corporate, 
under  the  usurping  power,  shall  vote  for,  or  be  a  member  of 
the  Legislature,  or  Governor. 

"  Second.  Involuntary  servitude  is  forever  prohibited, 
and  the  freedom  of  all  persons  is  guaranteed  in  said  State. 

"  Third.  No  debt,  State  or  corporate,  created  by  or  under 
the  sanction  of  the  usurping  power,  shall  be  recognized  or 
paid  by  the  State. 

"  Section  8.  That  when  the  Convention  shall  have  adopted 
these  provisions,  it  shall  proceed  to  reestablish  a  republican 
form  of  Government,  and  ordain  a  Constitution  containing 
these  provisions,  which,  when  adopted,  the  Convention  shall, 
by  ordinance,  provide  for  submitting  to  the  people  of  the 
State  entitled  to  vote  under  this  law,  at  an  election  to  be  held 
in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the  Act  for  the  election  of  dele- 
gates, but  at  a  time  and  place  named  by  the  Convention,  at 
which  Election  the  said  Electors,  and  none  others,  shall  vote 
directly  for  or  against  such  Constitution  and  form  of  State 
government;  and  the  returns  of  said  election  shall  be  made 
to  the  Provisional  Governor,  who  shall  canvass  the  same  in 
the  presence  of  the  electors,  and  if  a  majority  of  the  votes 
cast  shall  be  for  the  Constitution  and  form  of  government,  he 
shall  certify  the  same,  with  a  copy  thereof,  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  who,  after  obtaining  the  a.ssent  of  Con- 
gress, shall,  by  proclamation,  recognize  the  government  so 
established,  and  none  other,  as  the  Constitutional  Govern- 
ment of  the  State,  and  from  the  date  of  such  recognition,  and 
not  before.  Senators,  and  Representatives,  and  Electors  for 
President  and  Yice-President  may  be  elected  in  such  State, 
according  to  the  laws  of  the  State  and  of  the  United  States. 

"  Section  9.  That  if  the  Convention  shall  refuse  to  re- 
establish the  State  Government  on  the  conditions  aforesaid, 
the  Provisional  Governor  shall  declare  it  dissolved  ;  but  it 
shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President,  whenever  he  shall  have 
reason  to  believe  that  a  sufficient  number  of  the  people  of  th<> 


312  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLIST. 

Reconstruction  Bill.  Provisional  Governor's  Buties.  Taxes  to  be  Collected. 

State  entitled  to  vote  under  this  Act,  in  number  not  less  than 
a  majority  of  those  enrolled,  as  aforesaid,  are  willing  to  re- 
establish a  State  Government  on  the  conditions  aforesaid,  to 
direct  the  Provisional  Governor  to  order  another  election  of 
delegates  to  a  Convention  for  the  purpose  and  in  the  manner 
prescribed  in  this  Act,  and  to  proceed  in  all  respects  as  here- 
inbefore provided,  either  to  dissolve  the  Convention,  or  to 
certify  the  State  Government  reestablished  by  it  to  the 
President. 

"  Section  10.  That,  until  the  United  States  shall  have 
recognized  a  republican  form  of  State  Government,  the 
Provisional  Governor  in  each  of  said  States  shall  see  that 
this  Act,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  other  laws 
of  the  State  in  force  when  the  State  Government  was  over- 
thrown by  the  rebellion,  are  faithfully  executed  within  the 
State  ;  but  no  law  or  usage  whereby  any  person  was  hereto- 
fore held  in  involuntary  servitude  shall  be  recognized  or 
enforced  by  any  Court  or  officer  in  such  State,  and  the  laws 
for  the  trial  and  punishment  of  white  persons  shall  extend  to 
all  persons,  and  jurors  shall  have  the  qualifications  of  voters 
under  this  law  for  delegates  to  the  Convention.  The  Presi- 
dent shall  appoint  such  officers  provided  for  by  the  laws  of 
the  State  when  its  government  was  overthrown  as  he  may 
find  necessary  to  the  civil  administration  of  the  State,  all 
which  officers  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  the  fees  and  emolu- 
ments provided  by  the  State  laws  for  such  officers. 

"  Section  11.  That,  until  the  recognition  of  a  State 
(rovernment,  as  aforesaid,  the  Provisional  Governor  shall, 
under  such  regulations  as  he  may  prescribe,  cause  to  be 
assessed,  levied,  and  collected,  for  the  year  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-four,  and  every  year  thereafter,  the  taxes  provided 
by  the  laws  of  such  State  to  be  levied  during  the  fiscal  year 
preceding  the  overthrow  of  the  State  Government  thereof,  in 
the  manner  prescribed  by  the  laws  of  the  State,  as  nearly  as 
may  be ;  and  the  officers  appointed,  as  aforesaid,  are  vested 


KECONSTRUCTIOM',  3 1 3 


Ueconstructiou  Bill.  Slaves  Freed.  Rebels  Disfranchised. 

with  all  powers  of  levying  and  collecting  such  taxes,  by 
distress  or  sale,  as  were  vested  in  any  officers  or  tribunal  of 
the  State  Government  aforesaid  for  those  purposes.  The 
proceeds  of  such  taxes  shall  be  accounted  for  to  the  Pro- 
visional Governor,  and  be  by  him  applied  to  the  expenses  of 
the  administration  of  the  laws  in  such  State,  subject  to  the 
direction  of  the  President,  and  the  surplus  shall  be  deposited 
in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  to  the  credit  of  such 
State,  to  be  paid  to  the  State  upon  an  appropriation  therefor, 
to  be  made  when  a  republican  form  of  government  shall  be 
recognized  therein  by  the  United  States. 

"  Section  12.  That  all  persons  held  to  involuntary  servi- 
tude or  labor  in  the  States  aforesaid,  are  hereby  emancipated 
and  discharged  therefrom,  and  they  and  their  posterity  shall 
be  forever  free.  And  if  any  such  persons  or  their  posterity 
shall  be  restrained  of  liberty,  under  pretence  of  any  claim  to 
such  service  or  labor,  the  Courts  of  the  United  States  shall, 
on  habeas  corjjus,  discharge  them. 

"  Section  13.  That  if  any  person  declared  free  by  this  Act, 
or  any  law  of  the  United  States,  or  any  proclamation  of  the 
President,  be  restrained  of  liberty,  with  intent  to  be  held  in 
or  reduced  to  involuntary  servitude  or  labor,  the  person  con- 
victed before  a  Court  of  competent  jurisdiction  of  such  Act. 
shall  be  punished  by  fine  of  not  less  than  one  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars,  and  be  imprisoned  for  not  less  than  five  or 
more  than  twenty  years. 

"  Section  14.  That  every  person  who  shall  hereafter  hold 
or  exercise  any  office,  civil  or  military,  except  offices  mereiy 
ministerial,  and  military  offices  below  the  grade  of  Colonel, 
in  the  rebel  service.  State  or  Corporate,  is  hereby  declared 
not  to  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States." 


814  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM   LIXCOL^ST, 

Proclamation  for  a  Fast.  Humiliation  and  Prayer  Recommended. 

CHAPTER  XXL 

PRESIDENTIAL    CAMPAIGN     OP     1864. 

Proclamation  for  a  Fast — Speech  to  Soldiers — Another  Speech — "  To  Whom  it  may  Con- 
cern"— Chicago  Convention — Opposition  Embarrassed — Resolution  No.  2 — McClellan's 
Acceptance — Capture  of  the  Mobile  Forts  and  Atlanta — Proclamation  for  Thanksgiving 
Remarks  on  Employment  of  Negro  Soldiers — Addi-ess  to  Loyal  Mary  landers. 

On  the  *7th  of  July  tlie  following  proclamation  for  a  Na- 
tional Fast  appeared  : 

"  Whereas,  The  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  at 
their  last  session,  adopted  a  concurrent  resolution  which  was 
approved  on  the  third  day  of  July  instant,  and  which  was  in 
the  words  following  : 

"  '  That  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  requested  to 
appoint  a  day  of  humiliation  and  prayer  by  the  people  of  the 
United  States;  that  he  request  his  constitutional  advisers  at 
the  head  of  the  Executive  Departments  to  unite  with  him,  as 
Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Nation,  at  the  city  of  Washington, 
and  the  members  of  Congress,  and  all  magistrates,  all  civil, 
military  and  naval  officers,  all  soldiers,  sailors,  and  marines, 
with  all  loyal  and  law-abiding  people,  to  convene  at  their 
usual  places  of  worship,  or  wherever  they  may  be,  to  confess 
and  to  repent  of  their  manifold  sins  ;  to  implore  the  compas- 
sion and  forgiveness  of  the  Almighty,  that,  if  consistent  with 
His  will,  the  existing  rebellion  may  be  speedily  suppressed, 
and  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United 
States  may  be  established  throughout  all  the  States  ;  to  im- 
plore Him,  as  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  all  the  world,  not  to 
destroy  us  as  a  people,  nor  suffer  us  to  be  destroyed  by  the 
hostility  or  connivance  of  other  nations,  or  by  obstinate  adhe- 
sion to  our  own  counsels,  which  may  be  in  conflict  with  His 
eternal  purposes,  and  to  implore  him  to  enlighten  the  mind 


PRESIDENTIAL  CAMPAIGN  OF    1864.  315 

Proclamation  for  a  Fast.  Humiliation  and  Prayer  Becomniftuded. 

of  the  Nation  to  know  and  to  do  his  will,  humbly  believing 
that  it  is  not  in  accord  ever  with  his  will  that  our  place  should 
be  maintained  as  a  wicked  people  among  the  family  of  nations  ; 
to  implore  him  to  grant  to  our  armed  defenders  and  the 
masses  of  the  people  that  courage,  power  of  resistance,  and 
endurance  necessary  to  secure  that  result ;  to  implore  him  in 
his  infinite  goodness  to  soften  the  hearts,  enlighten  the  minds, 
and  quicken  the  consciences  of  those  in  rebellion,  that  they 
may  lay  down  their  arms  and  speedily  return  to  their  allegi- 
ance to  the  United  States,  that  they  may  not  be  utterly  de- 
stroyed, that  the  effusion  of  blood  may  be  stayed,  and  that 
unity  and  fraternity  may  be  restored,  and  peace  established 
throughout  all  our  borders.' 

""Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States,  cordially  concurring  with  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  in  the  penitential  and  pious  sentiments  ex- 
pressed in  the  aforesaid  resolution,  and  heartily  approving  of 
the  devotional  design  and  purpose  thereof,  do  hereby  appoint 
the  first  Thursday  of  August  next,  to  be  observed  by  the 
people  of  the  United  States  as  a  day  of  National  humiliation 
and  prayer. 

"I  do  hereby  further  invite  and  request  the  heads  of  the 
Executive  Department  of  this  Government,  together  with  all 
legislators,  all  Judges  and  magistrates,  and  all  other  persons 
exercising  authority  in  the  land,  whether  civil,  military,  or 
naval,  and  all  soldiers,  seamen  and  marines  in  the  National 
service,  and  all  other  loyal  and  law-abiding  people  of  the 
United  States,  to  assemble  in  their  professed  places  of  public 
worship  on  that  day,  and  there  to  render  to  the  Almighty 
and  merciful  Ruler  of  the  universe  such  homage  and  sucn 
confessions,  and  to  offer  him  such  supplications,  as  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States  have  in  their  aforesaid  resolution 
so  solemnly,  so  earnestly,  and  so  reverently  recommended. 

"  In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hana,  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 


316  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Speech  to  Soldiers.  A  Great  Work.  Free  Government. 

"  Done  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this,  the  seventh  day  of 
July,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  sixty-four,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States 
the  eighty-ninth. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

To  some  Ohio  volunteers,  about  to  return  home  at  the  ex- 
piration of  their  term  of  service,  who  had  called  upon  the 
President  to  pay  him  their  respects,  he  spoke,  on  the  18th  of 
August,  thus  : 

"  Soldiers  :  You  are  aloout  to  return  to  your  homes  and 
your  friends,  after  having,  as  I  learn,  performed  in  camp  a 
comparatively  short  term  of  duty  in  this  great  contest.  I  am 
greatly  obliged  to  you  and  to  all  who  have  come  forward  at 
ihe  call  of  their  country. 

"  I  wish  it  might  be  more  generally  and  universally  under- 
stood what  the  country  is  now  engaged  in.  We  have,  as  all 
will  agree,  a  free  Government,  where  every  man  has  a  right 
to  be  equal  with  every  other  man.  In  this  great  struggle, 
this  form  of  government  and  every  form  of  human  rights  is 
endangered  if  our  enemies  succeed.  There  is  more  involved 
in  this  contest  than  is  realized  by  every  one.  There  is  in- 
volved in  this  struggle  the  question  whether  your  children 
and  my  children  shall  enjoy  the  privileges  we  have  enjoyed. 
I  say  this,  in  order  to  impress  upon  you,  if  you  are  not 
already  so  impressed,  that  no  small  matter  should  divert  us 
from  our  great  purpose. 

"  There  may  be  some  inequalities  in  the  practical  working 
of  our  system.  It  is  fair  that  each  man  shall  pay  taxes  in 
exact  proportion  for  the  value  of  his  property ;  but  if  we 
should  wait,  before  collecting  a  tax,  to  adjust  the  taxes  upon 
each  man  in  exact  proportion  to  every  other  man,  we  should 
never  collect  any  tax  at  all.     There  may  be  mistakes  made 


PRESIDENTIAL    CAMPAIGN   OF    1864.  317 

Speech  to  Soldiers.  Thanks  of  the  Country.  A  Great  and  Free  Government. 

somewhere ;  things  may  be  done  wrong,  which  the  officers  of 
Government  do  all  they  can  to  prevent  mistakes. 

"  But  I  beg  of  you,  as  citizens  of  this  great  Republic,  not 
to  let  your  minds  be  carried  off  from  the  great  work  we  have 
before  us.  This  struggle  is  too  large  for  you  to  be  diverted 
from  it  by  any  small  matter.  When  you  return  to  your 
homes,  rise  up  to  the  height  of  a  generation  of  men,  worthy 
of  a  free  government,  and  we  will  carry  out  the  great  work 
we  have  commenced.  I  return  you  my  sincere  thanks,  sol- 
diers, for  the  honor  you  have  done  me  this  afternoon." 

And  again,  on  the  22d  of  August,  under  similar  circum- 
stances : 

"  Soldiers  : — I  suppose  you  are  going  home  to  see  your 
families  and  friends.  For  the  services  you  have  done  in  this 
great  struggle  in  which  we  are  engaged,  I  present  you  sincere 
thanks  for  myself  and  the  country. 

"  I  almost  always  feel  inclined,  when  I  say  any  thing  to  sol- 
diers, to  impress  upon  them,  in  a  few  brief  remarks,  the  impor- 
tance of  success  in  this  contest.  It  is  not  merely  for  to-day, 
but  for  all  time  to  come,  that  we  should  perpetuate  for  our 
children's  children  that  great  and  free  Government  which  we 
have  enjoyed  all  our  lives.  I  beg  you  to  remember  this,  not 
merely  for  ray  sake,  but  for  yours.  I  happen  temporarily  to 
occupy  this  big  White  House.  I  am  a  living  witness  that 
any  one  of  your  children  may  look  to  come  here  as  my  father's 
child  has. 

"  It  is  in  order  that  each  one  of  you  may  have,  through 
this  free  Government  which  we  have  enjoyed,  an  open  field 
and  a  fair  chance  for  your  industry,  dnterprise,  and  intelli- 
gence ;  that  you  may  all  have  equal  privileges  in  the  race  of 
life,  with  all  its  desirable  human  aspirations  ;  it  is  for  this  that 
the  struggle  should  be  maintained,  that  we  may  not  lose  our 
birthrights — not  only  for  one,  but  for  two  or  three  years 


818  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

President's  Letter.  "  To  Whom  It  May  Concern."  Democratic  Convention 

The  nation  is  worth  fighting  for,  to  secure  such  an  unques- 
tionable jewel." 

During  the  excitement  accompanying  the  rebel  attempts 
upon  the  National  Capitol,  during  the  month  of  July,  hereto- 
fore noticed,  representations  were  made  to  the  President  that 
certain  individuals,  professing  to  represent  tlte  rebel  leaders., 
were  in  Canada,  anxious  to  enter  into  negotiations,  with  a 
view  to  the  restoration  of  peace. 

In  response  to  this  suggestion,  Mr.  Lincoln  issued  the  fol- 
lowing paper,  which  was  very  unsatisfactory  to  those  who 
affected  to  believe  that  peace  could  be  secured  upon  any 
basis  short  of  the  recognition  of  the  Southern  Confederacy, 
unless  the  rebels  in  arms  were  thoroughly  defeated,  dated, 
Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  July  18,  1864. 

"To  WHOM  IT  MAT  CONCERN. — Any  proposition  which  em- 
braces the  restoration  of  peace,  the  integrity  of  the  Union, 
and  the  abandonment  of  slavery,  and  which  comes  by  and 
with  authority  that  can  control  the  armies  now  at  war  against 
the  United  States,  will  be  received  and  considered  by  the 
Executive  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  will  be  met 
by  liberal  terms  on  other  substantial  and  collateral  points,  and 
the  bearers  thereof  shall  have  safe  conduct  both  ways. 

"Abraham  Lincoln." 

This  ended  that  attempt  to  divide  the  supporters  of  the 
Administration. 

On  the  29th  of  August,  1864,  assembled  at  Chicago  the 
National  Convention  of  the  Democratic  party.  This  had  been 
preceded  by  a  "  Mass  Peace  Convention,"  at  Syracuse,  on  the 
18th  of  August,  at  which  it  had  been  resolved,  among  other 
things,  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Chicago  Convention  to 
give  expression  to  a  beneficent  sentiment  of  peace  and  to 
declare  as  the  purpose  of  the  Democratic  party,  if  it  should 
recover  power,  to  cause  the  desolating  war  to  cease  by  the 
vailing  of  a  National  Convention,  in  which  all  the   States 


PEESIDEiXTIAL    CAMPAIGN   OF    186-J:.  819 

Democratic  National  Convention.  Two  Factions.  Gen.  MeClellan  Nominated, 


should  be  represented  iu  their  sovereign  capacity  ;  and  that, 
to  that  end,  an  immediate  armistice  should  be  declared  of  suf- 
ficient duration  to  give  the  States  and  the  people  ample  time 
and  opportunity  to  deliberate  upon  and  finally  conclude  a 
form  of  Union. 

There  were  two  factions  represented  at  Chicago  :  one,  un- 
qualifiedly in  favor  of  peace  at  any  price,  upon  any  terms, 
with  any  concessions ;  the  other,  disposed  to  take  every  pos- 
sible advantage  of  the  mistakes  of  the  Administration,  but 
not  possessed  of  effrontery  sufficient  to  pronounce  boldly  for 
a  cessation  of  hostilities  in  any  and  every  event. 

Thus  embarrassed,  what  was  left  of  the  still  great  Demo- 
cratic party — that  party  which  had  swayed  the  country 
for  so  many  years,  and  whose  disruption  in  1860  was  the  im- 
mediate occasion  of  the  war  that  ensued — determined  to  do  what 
it  never  before,  in  all  its  history,  had  ventured  upon.  It 
essayed  to  ride,  at  one  and  the  same  time,  two  horses  going 
in  diametrically  opposite  directions. 

To  conciliate  whatever  feeling  in  favor  of  a  prosecution  of 
the  war  there  might  be  in  their  ranks,  without  at  the  same 
time  going  too  far  in  that  direction,  and  to  secure  as  many 
soldiers'  votes  as  possible,  they  put  in  nomination  for  the 
Presidency,  Gen.  MeClellan.  To  neutralize  this  apparent 
tendency  toward  war,  they  associated  the  General  with  George 
H.  Pendleton,  of  Ohio,  as  a  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presi- 
dency— a  man,  who,  during  his  entire  Congressional  career  as 
member  of  the  National  House  of  Representatives,  had  avowed 
himself  and  voted  as  a  Peace-at-any-price  individual,  from  the 
very  outset. 

The  bane  and  antidote  having  thus  been  blended,  as  only 
political  chemists  would  have  attempted,  the  candidates  were 
placed  upon  a  platform,  the  second  resolution  of  which  was  as 
follows : 

^'Resolved,  That  this  Convention  does  explicitly  declare,  as 


820  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Pemocratic  National  Convention.        The  War  a  Failure.  McClellan's  Acceptance. 

the  sense  of  the  American  people,  that,  after  four  years  of 
failure  to  restore  the  Union  by  the  experiment  of  war,  during 
which,  under  the  pretence  of  a  military  necessity  or  war 
power  higher  than  the  Constitution,  the  Constitution  itself 
has  been  disregarded  in  every  part,  and  public  liberty  and 
private  right  alike  trodden  down,  and  the  material  pros- 
perity of  the  country  essentially  impaired,  justice,  humanity, 
liberty,  and  the  public  welfare  demand  that  immediate  efforts 
be  made  for  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  with  a  view  to  an  ulti- 
mate Convention  of  all  the  States,  or  other  peaceable  means, 
to  the  end  that  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment  peace 
may  be  restored  on  the  basis  of  the  Federal  Union  of  the 
States." 

This  accomplished,  the  Convention  adjourned,  having  pro- 
vided for  its  indefinite  existence  by  empowering  its  chairman 
to  reconvene  it,  whenever,  in  his  judgment,  it  should  be 
thought  necessary. 

McClellan  accepted  the  nomination,  happy  to  know  that 
when  it  was  made,  the  record  of  his  public  life  was  kept  in 
view.  In  his  letter  of  acceptance,  he  talked  all  around  the 
peace  proposition,  ignored  the  idea  of  a  cessation  of  hostilities, 
and  went  for  the  whole  Union.  The  document,  though  suf- 
ficiently general  and  indefinite  to  answer  the  purpose,  failed 
to  satisfy  the  ultra-peace  men  of  his  party. 

Thus,  in  the  midst  of  a  civil  war,  unparalleled  in  the 
world's  history,  the  extraordinary  spectacle  was  presented  of 
a  great  people  entering  with  earnestness  upon  a  political 
campaign,  one  of  whose  issues — indeed,  the  main  one — was 
as  to  the  continuance  of  that  war,  with  all  its  hardships  and 
burdens. 

Just  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Chicago  Convention, 
Sherman's  occupation  of  Atlanta  and  the  capture  of  the  forts 
in  the  harbor  of  Mobile,  were  announced,  seeming  to  intimate 
that  the  war  had  not  been,  up  to  that  time,  wholly  a  failure. 
The  thanks  of  the  Nation  were  tendered  by  the  President  to 


PRESIDEXTIAL   CAMPAIGN   OF   1864.  821 

Capture  of  Atlanta.  Thanksgiving  Proclamation.  Negroes  as  Soldiers. 

the  officers  and  men  connected  with  these  operations,  national 
salutes  ordered,  and  the  following  proclamation  issued,  dated 
September  3d,  1864. 

"  The  signal  success  that  Divine  Providence  has  recently 
vouchsafed  to  the  operations  of  the  United  States  fleet  and 
army  in  the  harbor  of  Mobile,  and  the  reduction  of  Fort 
Powell,  Fort  Gaines,  and  Fort  Morgan,  and  the  glorious 
achievements  of  the  army  under  Major-General  Sherman,  in 
the  State  of  Georgia,  resulting  in  the  capture  of  the  city  of 
Atlanta,  call  for  devout  acknowledgment  of  the  Supreme 
Being  in  whose  hands  are  the  destinies  of  nations. 

"  It  is  therefore  requested  that  on  next  Sunday,-,  in  all 
places  of  worship  in  the  United  States,  thanksgiving  be 
offered  to  Him  for  His  mercy  in  preserving  our  national 
existence  against  the  insurgent  rebels  who  have  been  waging 
a  cruel  war  against  the  Government  of  the  United  States  for 
its  overthrow,  and  also  that  prayer  be  made  for  Divine  pro- 
tection to  our  brave  soldiers  and  their  leaders  in  the  field, 
who  have  so  often  and  so  gallantly  perilled  their  lives  in 
battling  with  the  enemy,  and  for  blessing  and  comfort  from 
the  Father  of  Mercies  to  the  sick,  wounded,  and  prisoners, 
and  to  the  orphans  and  widows  of  those  who  have  fallen  in 
the  service  of  their  country,  and  that  He  will  continue  to 
uphold  the  Government  of  the  United  States  against  all  the 
efforts  of  public  enemies  and  secret  foes. 

"Abraham  Lincoln." 

Mr.  Lincoln's  views  relative  to  the  employment  of  negroes 
as  soldiers  were  again  and  fully  expressed  about  this  time  in 
a  conversation  with  leading  gentlemen  from  the  West.  On 
that  occasion  he  said  : 

"  The  slightest  knowledge  of  arithmetic  will  prove  to  any 

man  that  the  rebel  armies  cannot  be  destroyed  by  Democratic 

strategy.     It  would  sacrifice  all  the  white  men  of  the  North 

to  do  it.     There  are  now  in  the  service  of  the  United  States 

21 


322  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


TIjo  President  ou  Democratic  Strategy.  Blackmen  Essential  to  the  Union. 


nearly  two  hundred  thousand  able-bodied  colored  men,  most 
of  them  under  arms,  defending  and  acquiring  Union  territory. 
The  Democratic  strategy  demands  that  these  forces  be  dis- 
banded, and  that  the  masters  be  conciliated  by  restoring  them 
to  slavery.  The  black  men,  who  now  assist  Union  prisoners 
to  escape,  are  to  be  converted  into  our  enemies,  in  the  vain 
hope  of  gaining  the  good-will  of  their  masters.  We  shall  have 
to  fight  two  nations  instead  of  one. 

"  You  can  not  conciliate  the  South,  if  you  guarantee  to 
them  ultimate  success ;  and  the  experience  of  the  present , 
war  proves  their  success  is  inevitable,  if  you  fling  the  com- 
pulsory labor  of  millions  of  black  men  into  their  side  of  the 
scale.  Will  you  give  our  enemies  such  military  advantages 
as  insure  success,  and  then  depend  upon  coaxing,  flattery, 
and  concession  to  get  them  back  into  the  Union  ?  Abandon 
all  the  forts  now  garrisoned  by  black  men,  take  two  hundred 
thousand  men  from  our  side  and  put  them  in  the  battle-field 
or  corn-field  against  us,  and  we  would  be  compelled  to  aban- 
don the  war  in  three  weeks. 

"  We  have  to  hold  territory  in  inclement  and  sickly  places  ; 
where  are  the  Democrats  to  do  this  ?  It  was  a  free  fight ; 
and  the  field  was  open  to  the  War  Democrats  to  put  down 
this  rebellion  by  fighting  against  both  master  and  slave,  long 
before  the  present  policy  was  inaugurated. 

"  There  have  been  men  base  enough  to  propose  to  me  to 
return  to  slavery  our  black  warriors  of  Port  Hudson  and 
Olustee,  and  thus  win  the  respect  of  the  masters  they  fought. 
Should  I  do  so,  I  should  deserve  to  be  damned  in  time  and 
eteraity.  Come  what  will,  I  will  keep  my  faith  with  friend 
and  foe.  My  enemies  pretend  I  am  now  carrying  on  this 
war  for  the  sole  purpose  of  abolition.  So  long  as  I  am 
President,  it  shall  be  carried  on  for  the  sole  purpose  of  restor- 
ing the  Union.  But  no  human  power  can  subdue  this  rebel- 
lion without  the  use  of  the  Emancipation  policy,  and  every 


PRESIDENTIAL    CAMPAIGN   OF    1864.  323 

What  FreeJom  gives  us.  How  it  weakens  the  Eebellion.  Speech, 

other  policy  calculated  to  weaken  the  moral  and  physical 
forces  of  the  rebellion. 

"Freedom  has  given  us  two  hundred  thousand  men  raised 
on  Southern  soil.  It  will  give  us  more  yet.  Just  so  much 
it  has  subtracted  from  the  enemy ;  and,  instead  of  checking 
the  South,  there  are  now  evidences  of  a  fraternal  feeling 
growing  up  between  our  men  and  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
rebel  soldiers.  Let  my  enemies  prove  to  the  country  that 
the  destruction  of  slavery  is  not  necessary  to  the  restoration 
of  the  Union.     I  will  abide  the  issue." 

On  the  19th  of  October,  the  President  having  been  sere- 
naded by  the  loyal  Marylanders  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
said  : 

"  I  am  notified  that  this  is  a  compliment  paid  me  by  the 
loyal  Marylanders  resident  in  this  district.  1  infer  that  the 
adoption  of  the  new  Constitution  for  the  State  furnishes  the 
occasion,  and  that  in  your  view  the  extirpation  of  slavery 
constitutes  the  chief  merit  of  the  new  Constitution. 

"  Most  heartily  do  I  congratulate  you,  and  Maryland,  and 
the  Nation,  and  the  world  upon  the  event.  1  regret  that  it 
did  not  occur  two  years  sooner,  which,  I  am  sure,  would  have 
saved  to  the  nation  more  money  than  would  have  met  all  tne 
private  loss  incident  to  the  measure  ;  but  it  has  come  at  last, 
and  I  sincerely  hope  its  friends  may  fully  realize  all  their 
anticipations  of  good  from  it,  and  that  its  opponents  may,  by 
its  effects,  be  agreeably  and  profitably  disappointed. 

"  1  word  upon  another  subject :  Something  said  by  the 
Secretary  of  State,  in  his  recent  speech  at  Auburn,  has  been 
construed  by  some  into  a  threat  that,  if  I  shall  be  beaten  at 
the  election,  I  will  between  then  and  the  end  of  my  consti- 
tutional term  do  what  I  may  be  able  to  ruin  the  Government. 
Others  regard  the  fact  that  the  Chicago  Convention  adjourned, 
not  sine  die,  but  to  meet  again,  if  called  to  do  so  by  a  par- 
ticular individual,  as  the  ultimatum  of  a  purpose  that,  if  the 


S24  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Speech  to  Loyal  Marjlanders.  The  Country  and  its  Liberties. 

nominee  shall  be  elected,  he  will  at  once  seize  control  of  the 
Government. 

"  I  hope  the  good  people  will  permit  themselves  to  suffer 
no  uneasiness  on  either  point.  I  am  struggling  to  maintain 
the  Government,  not  to  overthrow  it.  I  therefore  say  that, 
if  I  shall  live,  I  shall  remain  President  until  the  fourth  of 
March.  And  whoever  shall  be  constitutionally  elected,  there- 
fore, in  November,  shall  be  duly  installed  as  President  on  the 
fourth  of  March  ;  and  that,  in  the  interval,  I  shall  do  my 
utmost  that  whoever  is  to  hold  the  helm  for  the  next  voyage, 
shall  start  with  the  best  possible  chance  to  save  the  ship. 

"  This  is  due  to  our  people,  both  on  principle  and  under 
the  Constitution.  Their  will,  constitutionally  expressed,  is 
the  ultimate  law  for  all.  If  they  should  deliberately  resolve 
to  have  immediate  peace,  even  at  the  loss  of  their  country 
and  their  liberties,  I  know  not  the  power  or  the  right  to 
resist  them.  It  is  their  own  business,  and  they  must  do  as 
they  please  with  their  own. 

"  I  believe,  however,  that  they  are  all  resolved  to  preserve 
their  country  and  their  liberty ;  and  in  this,  in  office  or  out 
of  it,  I  am  resolved  to  stand  by  them.  I  may  add,  that  in 
this  purpose — to  save  the  country  and  its  liberties — no  class 
of  people  seem  so  nearly  unanimous  as  the  soldiers  in  the  field 
and  the  seamen  afloat.  Do  they  not  have  the  hardest  of  it  ? 
Who  shall  quail,  when  they  do  not  ?  God  bless  the  soldiers 
and  seamen  and  all  their  brave  commanders  1" 


KE-ELECTED.  825 


Campaign  of  1864.  An  Anomaly.  Fremont's  Withdrawal. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

RE-ELECTED. 

Presidential  Campaign  of  1864 — Fremont's  Withdrawal — Wade  and  Davis  — Peace  and  War 
Democrats — llebel  Sympathizers — October  Election — Result  of  Presidential  Election — 
Speech  to  Pennsylvanlans — Speech  at  a  Serenade — Letter  to  a  Soldier's  Mother- 
Opening  of  Congress — Last  Annual  Message. 

The  Presidential  campaign  of  1864,  was,  in  several  of  its 
aspects,  an  anomaly.  The  amount  of  low  blackguard  and 
slang  dealt  out  against  the  Administration,  was  perhaps  to 
have  been  expected  in  a  land  where  personal  abuse  seems  to 
have  become  regarded  as  so  vital  an  accompaniment  of  a 
National  Election,  that  its  absence  in  any  exciting  canvass 
would  give  rise  to  grave  fears  that  positive  Constitutional 
requirements  had  been  disregarded. 

Though  freedom,  in  such  instances,  far  too  often  is  wrested 
into  the  vilest  abuse,  it  was  in  truth  passing  strange  that  an 
Administration  should  be  so  violently  assailed  by  its  oppo- 
nents as  despotic  and  tyrannical,  when  the  very  fact  that  such 
strictures  and  comments  were  passed  upon  it,  without  let  or 
hindrance,  by  word  of  mouth  and  on  the  printed  page, 
afforded  a  proof  that  the  despotism,  if  such  there  were,  was 
either  too  mild  or  too  weak  to  enforce  even  a  decent  treat- 
ment of  itself  and  its  acts.  It  is  safe  to  say,  that,  within  the 
limits  of  that  section  with  which  we  were  under  any  cir- 
cumstances to  establish  harmonious  and  peaceful  relations, 
according  to  the  requirements  of  the  opposition,  not  one 
speech  in  a  hundred,  not  one  editorial  in  a  thousand,  would 
have  been  permitted  under  precisely  similar  circumstances. 

General  Fremont  withdrew  his  name  shortly  after  ihe 
Chicago  nominations,  that  he  might  not  distract  and  divide 


326  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Fremont's  Withdi-awal.  Wade  and  Davis.  The  Opposition. 

the  friends  of  the  Union.      In  his  letter  of  withdrawal  he 
said : 

"  The  policy  of  the  Democratic  party  signifies  either  sepa- 
ration, or  reestablishment,  with  slavery.  The  Chicago  plat- 
form is  simply  separation.     General  McClellan's  letter  of 

acceptance,  is  reestablishment  with   slavery The 

Republican  candidate,  on  the  contrary,  is  pledged  to  the  re- 
establishment of  Union  without  slavery." 

Senator  Wade  and  Henry  Winter  Davis,  who  had  joined 
in  a  manifesto  to  the  people,  bitterly  denunciatory  of  the 
President's  course  in  issuing  his  reconstruction  proclamation, 
entered  manfully  into  the  canvass  in  behalf  of  the  Baltimore 
nominees.  The  ranks  of  the  supporters  of  the  Government 
closed  steadily  up,  and  pressed  on  to  a  success,  of  which  they 
eould  not,  with  their  faith  in  manhood  and  republican  prin- 
ciples, suffer  themselves  to  doubt. 

The  Opposition  were  not  entirely  in  accord.  It  was  a  deli- 
cate position  in  which  the  full-blooded  Peace  Democrat  found 
himself,  obliged  as  he  was  to  endorse  a  man  whose  only  claim 
for  the  nomination  was  the  reputation  which  he  had  made  as 
a  prominent  General  engaged  in  prosecuting  an  "  unnatural, 
unholy  war."  Nor  did  it  afford  much  alleviation  to  his  dis- 
tress to  remember  that  this  candidate  had  been  loudly  assailed 
in  the  Convention  as  the  first  mover  in  the  matter  of  arbitrary 
arrests,  against  which  a  sturdy  outcry  had  long  been  raised 
by  himself  and  friends.  It  was  unpleasant,  moreover,  not  to 
be  able  to  forget  that  the  same  candidate  had  been  the  first  to 
suggest  a  draft — or  "  conscription,"  as  your  true  peace  man 
would  call  it :  that  measure  so  full  of  horrors,  against  which 
unconstitutional  act  such  an  amount  of  indignation  had  been 
expended. 

Nor  was  the  situation  of  the  War  Democrat,  if  he  were 
indeed  honestly  and  sincerely  such,  much  better.  He  could 
not  shut  his  eyes  to  the  fact,  that  his  candidate's  military 
record,  whatever  else  it  might  have  established,  did  not  evince 


RE-ELECTED.  827 


Campaign  of  1864.  The  Opposition.  The  State  Elections. 

very  remarkable  vigor  and  celerity  in  his  movements,  as  com- 
pared with  other  Generals  then  and  since  prominently  before 
the  public.  Even  had  he  blundered  energetically,  in  that 
there  would  have  been  some  consolation.  The  thought,  not 
unpleasant  to  the  Pendletonian,  of  the  possibility  of  the 
General's  death  during  his  term  of  office,  stirred  up  certain 
other  thoughts  which  he  would  rather  have  avoided. 

However,  it  must  be  said,  that,  taken  as  a  whole,  the 
Opposition  came  up  to  the  work  more  vigorously  than  might 
have  been  supposed,  and  carried  on  their  campaign  in  as 
blustering  and  defiant  a  style  as  if  victory  were  sure  to  perch 
upon  their  banners.  There  was  the  usual  amount  of  cheap 
enthusiasm,  valiant  betting,  and  an  unusual  amount,  many 
thought,  of  cheating — at  least,  the  results  of  investigations  at 
Baltimore  and  Washington,  conducted  by  a  military  tribunal, 
to  a  casual  observer  appeared  to  squint  iu  that  direction. 

Richmond  papers  were,  for  a  marvel,  quite  unanimous  in 
the  desire  that  Mr.  Lincoln  should  not  be  reelected.  The 
rebel  Vice-President  declared  that  the  Chicago  movement  was 
"the  only  ray  of  light  which  had  come  from  the  North  during 
the  war."  European  sympathizers  with  the  rebellion,  like- 
wise, were  opposed  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  reelection,  and  their 
organs  on  the  Continent  and  in  the  provinces  did  their  best  to 
abuse  him  shockingly. 

The  State  elections  in  Ohio,  Pennsvlvania,  and  Indiana, 
occurring  in  October,  created  much  consternation  in  the  oppo- 
sition ranks — that  iu  the  latter  State  particularly,  which  had 
been  set  down  positively  as  upon  their  side,  but  insisted,  upon 
that  occasion,  in  common  with  the  first  two  in  pronouncing 
unequivocally  in  favor  of  the  Administration  candidates. 

The  result  could  no  longer  be  doubtful.  Yet  the  most  of 
the  supporters  of  McClellan  kept  up  their  talk,  whatever 
their  thoughts  may  have  been. 

No  opportunity  for  talk,  even,  was  afforded  when  the 
results   of  the  election    of  November   8th   became   known. 


328  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Presidential  Election.  The  Result.  Speech  of  Mr.  Lincoln. 


Abraham  Lincoln  and  Andrew  Johnson — whom  an  opposi- 
tion journal,  with  rarest  refinement  and  graceful  courtesy,  con- 
centrating all  its  malignity  into  the  intensest  sentence  possi- 
ble, had  characterized  as  "a  rail-splitting  buffoon  and  a 
boorish  tailor,  both  from  the  backwoods,  both  growing 
up  in  uncouth  ignorance" — these  men  of  the  people  carried 
every  loyal  State,  except  Kentucky,  New  Jersey,  and  Dela- 
ware, the  vote  of  soldiers  in  service  having  been  almost 
universally  given  to  them. 

Of  the  four  million,  thirty-four  thousand,  seven  hundred 
and  eighty-nine  votes  cast,  Mr.  Lincoln  received,  according 
to  official  returns,  two  million,  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
three  thousand,  and  thirty-five ;  a  majority  on  the  aggregate 
popular  vote,  of  four  hundred  and  eleven  thousand,  two 
hundred  and  eighty-one. 

The  President  elect  by  a  plurality  in  1860,  be  was  reelected 
in  1864  by  a  majority  decisive  and  unmistakable. 

Having  been  serenaded  early  in  the  morning  following  his 
reelection,  by  Pennsylvanians  then  in  Washington,  he  thus 
gave  utterance  to  his  feelings  : 

"  Friends  and  Fellow- Citizens  : — Even  before  I  bad  been 
informed  by  you  that  this  compliment  was  paid  me  by 
loyal  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  friendly  to  me,  I  had  inferred 
that  you  were  of  that  portion  of  my  countrymen  who  think 
that  the  best  interests  of  the  nation  are  to  be  subserved 
by  the  support  of  the  present  administration.  I  do  not  pre- 
tend to  say  that  you,  who  think  so,  embrace  all  the  patriot- 
ism and  loyalty  of  the  country  ;  but  I  do  believe,  and  I  trust 
without  personal  interest,  that  the  welfare  of  the  country  does 
require  that  such  support  and  indorsement  be  given.  I 
earnestly  believe  that  the  consequences  of  this  day's  work,  if 
it  be  as  you  assume,  and  as  now  seems  probable,  will  be 
to  the  lasting  advantage  if  not  to  the  very  salvation  of  the 
country      J    cannot,    at   this   hour,  say  what  has  been  the 


KE-ELECTED.  329 


Presidential  Election.  Speech  to  Pennsylvauiane.  Speech  at  a  Serenade. 

result  of  the  election,  but  whatever  it  may  be,  I  have  no 
desire  to  modify  this  opinion  :  that  all  who  have  labored  to- 
day in  behalf  of  the  Union  organization,  have  wrought 
for  the  best  interest  of  their  country  and  the  world,  not  ouly 
for  the  present,  but  for  all  future  ages.  I  am  thankful  to  God 
for  this  approval  of  the  people  ;  but  while  deeply  grateful 
for  this  mark  of  their  confidence  in  me,  if  I  know  my  heart, 
my  gratitude  is  free  from  any  taint  of  personal  triumph.  I 
do  not  impugn  the  motives  of  any  one  opposed  to  me.  It  is 
no  pleasure  to  me  to  triumph  over  any  one,  but  I  give  thanks 
to  the  Almighty  for  this  evidence  of  the  people's  resolution 
to  stand  by  free  government  and  the  rights  of  humanity." 

When  the  result  was  definitely  known,  at  a  serenade  given 
in  his  honor  on  the  night  of  November  10th,  by  the  various 
Lincoln  and  Johnson  Clubs  of  the  District,  he  said  : 

"  It  has  long  been  a  grave  question  whether  any  Govern- 
ment, not  too  strong  for  the  liberties  of  its  people,  can 
be  strong  enough  to  maintain  its  existence  in  great  emer- 
gencies. On  this  point  the  present  rebellion  brought  our 
Government  to  a  severe  test,  and  a  Presidential  election 
occurring  in  a  regular  course  during  the  rebellion,  added  not 
a  little  to  the  strain. 

"  If  the  loyal  people  united  were  put  to  the  utmost  of  their 
strength  by  the  rebellion,  must  they  not  fail  when  divided  and 
partially  paralyzed  by  a  political  war  among  themselves  ? 
But  the  election  was  a  necessity — we  can  not  have  free 
government  without  elections  ;  and  if  the  rebellion  could  force 
us  to  forego  or  postpone  a  national  election,  it  must  fairly 
claim  to  have  already  conquered  and  ruined  us.  The  strife 
of  the  election  is  but  human  nature  practically  applied  to  the 
facts  of  the  case.  What  has  occurred  in  this  case  must  ever 
recur  in  similar  cases.  Human  nature  will  not  change.  In 
any  future  great  national  trial,  compared  with  the  men  of 
this,    we   shall   have   as   weak   and  as  strong,  as  silly  and 


830  LIFE   OF   ABEAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Speech  at  a  Serenade.  Gold  good,  but  Men  better.  His  Faith  in  the  Country. 

as  wise,  as  bad  and  as  good.  Let  us,  therefore,  study  the 
incidents  of  this,  as  philosophy  to  learn  wisdom  from, 
and  none  of  them  as  wrongs  to  be  revenged. 

"  But  the  election,  along  with  its  incidental  and  undesirable 
strife,  has  done  good  too.  It  has  demonstrated  that  a 
people's  government  can  sustain  a  national  election  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  civil  war.  Until  now  it  has  not  been  known 
to  the  world  that  this  was  a  possibility.  It  shows  also  how 
sound  and  how  strong  we  still  are.  It  shows  that,  even 
among  the  candidates  of  the  same  party,  he  who  is  most 
devoted  to  the  Union,  and  most  opposed  to  treason,  can 
receive  most  of  the  people's  votes.  It  shows  also,  to  the 
extent  yet  known,  that  we  have  more  men  now  than  we  had 
when  the  war  began.  Gold  is  good  in  its  place  ;  but  living, 
brave,  and  patriotic  men  are  better  than  gold. 

"  But  the  rebellion  continues  ;  and  now  that  the  election  is 
over,  may  not  all  having  a  common  interest  reunite  in  a  com- 
mon effort  to  save  our  common  country  ?  For  my  own  part, 
I  have  striven  and  shall  strive  to  avoid  placing  any  obstacle 
in  the  way.  So  long  as  I  have  been  here  I  have  not  wil- 
lingly planted  a  thorn  in  any  man's  bosom.  While  I  am  duly 
sensible  to  the  high  compliment  of  a  reelection,  and  duly 
grateful,  as  I  trust,  to  Almighty  God  for  having  directed  my 
countrymen  to  a  right  conclusion,  as  I  think,  for  their  good, 
it  adds  nothing  to  ray  satisfaction  that  any  other  man  may 
be  disappointed  by  the  result. 

"  May  I  ask  those  who  have  not  differed  with  me  to  join 
with  me  in  this  same  spirit  toward  those  who  have  ?  And 
now  let  me  close  by  asking  three  hearty  cheers  for  our  brave 
soldiers  and  seamen  and  their  gallant  and  skilful  com- 
manders." 

As  indicative  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  warmth  and  tenderness  of 
beart  the  following  letter  will  be  read  with  interest.  It  was 
addressed  to  a  poor  widow,  in  Boston,  whose  sixth  son,  then 


RE-ELECTED.  331 


Letter  to  a  Widow.  Five  Sons  for  her  Country.  Last  Annual  Message. 

recently  wounded,  was  lying  in  a  hospital,  and  bears  date 
November  21st,  1864. 

"  Dear  Madam  : — I  have  been  shown  in  the  files  o*"  the 
War  Department  a  statement  of  the  Adjutant-General  of 
Massachusetts,  that  you  are  the  mother  of  five  sons  who  have 
died  gloriously  on  the  field  of  battle.  I  feel  how  weak  and 
fruitless  must  be  any  word  of  mine,  which  should  attempt  to 
beguile  you  from  the  grief  of  a  loss  so  overwhelming ;  but  I 
cannot  refrain  from  tendering  to  you  the  consolation  that  may 
be  found  in  the  thanks  of  the  Republic  they  died  to  save.  I 
pray  that  our  Heavenly  Father  may  assuage  the  anguish  of 
your  bereavement,  and  leave  you  only  the  cherished  memory 
of  the  loved  and  lost,  and  the  solemn  pride  that  must  be 
yours,  to  have  laid  so  costly  a  sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of 
Freedom. 

"  Yours  very  sincerely  and  respectfully, 

"Abraham  Lincoln." 

The  Thirty- eighth  Congress  commenced  its  second  session 
on  the  5th  of  December,  1864.  On  the  following  day  Mr. 
Lincoln  transmitted  what  was  to  be  his  last  annual  message  : 

"Fellow-citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives : — Again  the  blessings  of  health  and  abundant 
harvests  claim  our  profoundest  gratitude  to  Almighty  God. 

"  The  condition  of  our  foreign  affairs  is  reasonably  satisfac- 
tory. 

"  Mexico  continues  to  be  a  theatre  of  civil  war.  While  our 
political  relations  with  that  country  have  undergone  no 
change,  we  have  at  the  same  time  strictly  maintained  neutral- 
ity between  the  belligerents. 

"At  the  request  of  the  States  of  Costa  Rica  and  Nicaragua, 
a  competent  engineer  kas  been  authorized  to  make  a  survey 
of  the  river  San  Juan  and  the  port  of  San  Juan.  It  is  a 
source  of  much  satisfaction  that  the  difficulties,  which  for  a 


632  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LIXCOLN. 

Last  Annual  Message.  Central  America.  South  America. 

moment  excited  some  political  apprehension,  and  caused  a 
closing  of  the  inter-oceanic  transit  route,  have  been  amicably 
adjusted,  and  that  there  is  a  good  prospect  that  the  route  will 
soon  be  re-opened  with  an  increase  of  capacity  and  adaptation. 

"  We  could  not  exaggerate  either  the  commercial  or  the 
political  importance  of  that  great  improvement.  It  would  be 
doing  injustice  to  an  important  South  American  State  not  to 
acknowledge  the  directness,  frankness,  and  cordiality  with 
which  the  United  States  of  Columbia  has  entered  into  intimate 
relation  with  this  Government.  A  Claim  Convention  has 
been  constituted  to  complete  the  unfinished  work  of  the  one 
which  closed  its  session  in  1861. 

"  The  new  liberal  Constitution  of  Venezuela  having  gone 
into  effect  with  the  universal  acquiescence  of  the  people,  the 
Government  under  it  has  been  recognized,  and  diplomatic  in- 
tercourse with  it  has  been  opened  in  a  cordial  and  friendly 
spirit. 

"  The  long-deferred  Avis  Island  claim  has  been  satisfac- 
torily paid  and  discharged.  Mutual  payments  have  been 
made  of  the  claims  awarded  by  the  late  Joint  Commission  for 
the  settlement  of  claims  between  the  United  States  and  Peru 
An  earnest  and  candid  friendship  continues  to  exist  between 
the  two  countries  ;  and  such  efforts  as  were  in  my  power  have 
been  used  to  prevent  misunderstanding,  and  avert  a  threat- 
ened war  between  Peru  and  Spain. 

"  Our  relations  are  of  the  most  friendly  nature  with  Chili, 
the  Argentine  Republic,  Bolivia,  Costa  Rica,  Paraguay,  San 
Salvador,  and  Hayti.  During  the  past  year,  no  differences 
of  any  kind  have  arisen  with  any  of  these  Republics.  And, 
on  the  other  hand,  their  sympathies  with  the  United  States 
are  constantly  expressed  with  cordiality  and  earnestness. 

"  The  claims  arising  from  the  seizure  of  the  cargo  of  the 
brig  Macedonian,  in  1821,  have  been  paid  in  full  by  the  Gov- 
ernment of  Chili. 


re-elected,  833 


Last  Annual  Message.  Liberia.  Overland  and  Atlantic  Telegraph. 

"  Civil  war  continues  in  the  Spanish  port  of  San  Domingo, 
apparently  without  prospect  of  an  early  close. 

"  Official   correspondence   has    been    freely   opened   with 
Liberia,  and  it  gives  us  a  pleasing  view  of  social  and  political 
progress  in  that  Republic.     It  may  be  expected  to  derive  new 
vigor  from  American  influence,  improved  by  the  rapid  disap 
pearance  of  slavery  in  the  United  States. 

"  I  solicit  your  authority  to  promise  to  the  Republic  a  gun- 
boat, at  a  moderate  cost,  to  be  reimbursed  to  the  United 
States  by  instalments.  Such  a  vessel  is  needed  for  the  safety 
of  that  State  against  the  native  African  races,  and  in  Liberian 
hands  it  would  be  more  effective  in  arresting  the  African 
slave-trade  than  a  squadron  in  our  own  hands. 

"  The  possession  of  the  least  authorized  naval  force  would 
stimulate  a  generous  ambition  in  the  Republic,  and  the  confi- 
dence which  we  should  manifest  by  furnishing  it  would  win 
forbearance  and  favor  toward  the  colony  from  all  civilized 
nations.  The  proposed  overland  telegraph  between  America 
and  Europe  by  the  way  of  Behring  Strait  and  Asiatic  Russia, 
which  was  sanctioned  by  Congress  at  the  last  session,  has 
been  undertaken  under  very  favorable  circumstances  by  an 
association  of  American  citizens,  with  the  cordial  good  will 
and  support  as  well  of  this  Government  as  of  those  of  Great 
Britain  and  Russia. 

"Assurances  have  been  received  from  most  of  the  South 
Am*^  ican  States  of  their  high  appreciation  of  the  enterprise 
and  their  readiness  to  cooperate  in  constructing  lines  tributary 
to  that  world-encircling  communication. 

"  I  learn  with  much  satisfaction  that  the  noble  design  of  a 
telegraphic  ommunication  between  the  eastern  cuast  of 
America  an  Great  Britain  has  been  renewed  with  full  expec- 
tation of  iv  early  accomplishment. 

"  Thus  it  is  hoped  that  with  the  return  of  domestic  peace 
the  country  will  be  able  to  resume  with  energy  and  advan- 
tage her  former  high  career  of  commerce  and  civilization. 


33-i  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Annual  Message.  Chinese  Kebellion.  Our  Relations  with  Jap;>n. 

Our  very  popular  and  able  representative  in  Egypt  died  in 
April  last. 

"An  unpleasant  altercation  which  arose  between  the  tem- 
porary incumbent  and  the  Government  of  the  Pacha,  resulted 
in  a  suspension  of  intercourse.  The  evil  was  promptly  cor- 
rected on  the  arrival  of  the  successor  in  the  consulate,  and 
our  relations  with  Egypt  as  well  as  our  relations  with  the 
Barbary  Powers,  are  entirely  satisfactory. 

"  The  rebellion  which  has  so  long  been  flagrant  in  China, 
has  at  last  been  suppressed  with  the  cooperating  good  offices 
of  this  Government  and  of  the  other  Western  Commercial 
States.  The  judicial  consular  establishment  has  become  very 
difficult  and  onerous,  and  it  will  need  legislative  requisition 
to  adapt  it  to  the  extension  of  our  commerce,  and  to  the  more 
intimate  intercourse  which  has  been  instituted  with  the  Gov- 
ernment and  people  of  that  vast  empire. 

"  China  seems  to  be  accepting  with  hearty  good-will  the 
conventional  laws  which  regulate  commerce  and  social  inter- 
course among  the  Western  nations. 

"  Owing  to  the  peculiar  situation  of  Japan,  and  the  anom- 
alous form  of  its  Government,  the  action  of  that  Empire  in 
performing  treaty  stipulations  is  inconsistent  and  capricious 
Nevertheless  good  progress  has  been  effected  by  the  Western 
Powers,  moving  with  enlightened  concert.  Our  own  pecu- 
niary claims  have  been  allowed,  or  put  in  course  of  settlement, 
and  the  Inland  Sea  has  been  reopened  to  Commerce. 

"  There  is  reason  also  to  believe  that  these  proceedings 
have  increased  rather  than  diminished  the  friendship  of  Japan 
toward  the  United  States. 

"  The  ports  of  Norfolk,  Fernandino,  and  Pensacola  have 
been  opened  by  proclamation. 

"  It  is  hoped  that  foreign  merchants  will  now  consider 
whether  it  is  not  safer  and  more  profitable  to  themselves  as 
well  as  just  to  the  United  States,  to  resort  to  these  and  other 
open  ports,  than  it  is  to  pursue,  through  many  hazards  and  at 


EE-ELECTED.  385 


Last  Annual  Message.  The  Slave  Trade.  Foreign  Complications. 

vast  cost,  a  contrabaad  trade  with  other  ports  which  are 
closed,  if  not  by  actual  military  operations,  at  least  by  a  law- 
ful and  effective  blockade. 

"  For  myself,  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  power  and  duty  of 
the  Executive,  under  the  laws  of  nations,  to  exclude  enemies 
of  the  human  race  from  an  asylum  in  the  United  States.  If 
Congress  should  think  that  proceedings  in  such  cases  lack  the 
authority  of  law,  or  ought  to  be  further  regulated  by  it,  I  re- 
commend that  provision  be  made  for  effectually  preventing 
foreign  slave-traders  from  acquiring  domicil  and  facilities  for 
their  criminal  occupation  in  our  country. 

"  It  is  possible  that  if  this  were  a  new  and  open  question, 
the  maritime  powers,  with  the  light  they  now  enjoy,  would 
not  concede  the  privileges  of  a  naval  belligerent  to  the  insur- 
gents of  the  United  States,  destitute  as  they  are  and  always 
have  been,  equally  of  ships,  and  of  ports  and  harbors. 

"  Disloyal  enemies  have  been  neither  less  assiduous  nor 
more  successful  during  the  last  year  than  they  were  before 
that  time,  in  their  efforts,  under  favor  of  that  privilege,  to 
embroil  our  country  in  foi'eign  wars.  The  desire  and  deter- 
mination of  the  maritime  States  to  defeat  that  design  are  be- 
lieved to  be  as  sincere  as,  and  cannot  be  more  earnest  than 
our  own. 

"  Nevertheless,  unforseen  political  difficulties  have  arisen, 
especially  in  Brazilian  and  British  ports,  and  on  the  Northern 
boundary  of  the  United  States,  which  have  required  and  are 
likely  to  continue  to  require  the  practice  of  constant  vigilance, 
and  a  just  and  conciliatory  spirit  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States,  as  well  as  of  the  nations  concerned  and  their  Govern- 
ments. Commissioners  have  been  appointed  under  the  treaty 
with  Great  Britain,  in  the  adjustment  of  the  claims  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  and  Puget  Sound  Agricultural  Companies  in 
Oregon,  and  are  now  proceeding  to  tne  execution  of  the  trust 
assigned  to  them. 

"  In  view  of  the  insecurity  of  life  in  tte  region  adjacent  to 


336  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Last  Annual  Message.  Condition  of  tlie  Border.  Encouraging  Immigration. 

the  Canadian  border  by  recent  assaults  and  depredations 
committed  by  inimical  and  desperate  persons  who  are  har- 
bored there,  it  has  been  thought  proper  to  give  notice  that 
after  the  expiration  of  six  months,  the  period  conditionally 
stipulated  in  the  existing  arrangements  with  Great  Britain, 
the  United  States  must  hold  themselves  at  liberty  to  increase 
their  naval  armament  upon  the  lakes,  if  they  shall  find  that 
proceeding  necessary. 

"The  condition  of  the  Border  will  necessarily  come  into 
consideration  in  connection  with  the  continuing  or  modifying 
the  rights  of  transit  from  Canada  through  the  United  States, 
as  well  as  the  regulation  of  imposts,  which  were  temporarily 
established  by  the  Reciprocity  Treaty  of  the  5th  of  June, 
1864.  I  desire,  however,  to  be  understood  while  making 
this  statement  that  the  Colonial  authorities  are  not  deemed 
to  be  intentionally  unjust  or  unfriendly  toward  the  United 
States ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  there  is  every  reason  to 
expect  that,  with  the  approval  of  the  Imperial  Government, 
they  will  take  the  necessary  measures  to  prevent  new  incur- 
sions across  the  border. 

"  The  act  passed  at  the  last  session  for  the  encouragement 
of  immigration  has,  as  far  as  was  possible,  been  put  into 
operation. 

"  It  seems  to  need  an  amendment  which  will  enable  the 
officers  of  the  Government  to  prevent  the  practice  of  frauds 
against  the  immigrants  while  on  their  way  and  on  their  arrival 
in  the  ports,  so  as  to  secure  them  here  a  free  choice  of  avoca- 
cations  and  place  of  settlement. 

"A  liberal  disposition  toward  this  great  National  policy  is 
manifested  by  most  of  the  European  States,  and  ought  to  be 
reciprocated  on  our  part  by  giving  the  immigrants  effective 
National  protection.  I  regard  our  immigrants  as  one  of  the 
principal  replenishing  streams  which  are  appointed  by  Provi- 
dence to  repair  the  ravages  of  internal  war,  and  its  wastes  of 
National  strength  and  health. 


EE-ELECTED.  337 


Annual  Message.  Immigration.  Receipts  and  Dislnirsements. 


"All  that  is  necessary  is,  to  secure  the  flow  of  that  stream 
in  its  present  fullness,  and  to  that  end,  the  Government  must, 
in  every  way,  make  it  manifest  that  it  neither  needs  nor  de- 
signs to  impose  involuntary  military  service  upon  those  who 
come  from  other  lands  to  cast  their  lot  in  our  country. 

"  The  financial  affairs  of  the  Government  have  been  suc- 
cessfully administered.  During  the  last  year  the  legislation 
of  the  last  session  of  Congress  has  beneficially  affected  the 
revenue,  although  sufficient  time  has  not  yet  elapsed  to  ex- 
perience the  full  effect  of  several  of  the  provisions  of  the  act 
of  Congress  imposing  increased  taxation.  The  receipts  during 
the  year,  from  all  sources,  upon  the  basis  of  warrants  signed 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  including  loans  and  the 
balance  in  the  Treasury  on  the  first  day  of  July,  1863,  were 
$1,394,'796,007  62,  and  the  aggregate  disbursements,  upon 
the  same  basis,  were  $1,298,056,101  89,  leaving  a  balance  in 
the  Treasury,  as  shown  by  warrants,  of  $96, 739,905  73. 
Deduct  from  these  amounts  the  amount  of  the  principal  of  the 
public  debt  redeemed,  and  the  amount  of  issues  in  substitu- 
tion therefor,  and  the  actual  cash  operations  of  thfe  Treasury 
were :  Receipts,  $3,075,646  77 ;  disbursements,  $865,734, 
087  76  ;  which  leaves  a  cash  balance  in  the  Treasury  of  $18, 
842,558  71.  Of  the  receipts,  there  were  derived  from  customs, 
$102,316,152  99  ;  from  lands,  $588,332  29  ;  from  direct  taxes, 
$475,648  96;  from  internal  revenues,  $109,741,134  10;  from 
miscellaneous  sources,  $47,511,448  ;  and  from  loans  applied 
to  actual  expenditures,  including  former  balance,  $623,443, 
929  13.  There  were  disbursed  for  the  civil  service,  $27,505, 
599  46;  for  pensions  and  Indians,  $7,517,930  97;  for  lue 
War  Department,  $60,791,842  97  ;  for  the  Navy  Department, 
$85,733,292  79;  for  interest  of  the  public  debts,  $53,685,421 
69  ;  making  an  aggregate  of  $865,234,081  86,  and  leaving  a 
balance  in  the  Treasury  of  $18,842,558  71,  as  before  stated 

"For  the  actual  receipts  and  disbursements  for  the  first 
quarter,  and  the  estimated  receipts  and  disbursements  for  tho 
22 


838  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Annual  Messiige.  Keceipts  and  Disbursements.  The  Public  Debt. 

three  remaining  quarters  of  the  current  fiscal  year,  and  the 
general  operations  of  the  Treasury  in  detail,  I  refer  you  to 
the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

"I  concur  with  him  in  the  opinion,  that  the  proportion  of 
the  moneys  required  to  meet  the  expenses  consequent  upon 
the  war  derived  from  taxation,  should  be  still  further  in- 
creased ;  and  I  earnestly  invite  your  attention  to  this  subject, 
to  the  end  that  there  may  be  such  additional  legislation 
as  shall  be  required  to  meet  the  just  expectations  of  the 
Secretary. 

"  The  public  debt,  on  the  first  day  of  May  last,  as  appears 
by  the  books  of  the  Treasury,  amounted  to  $1,140,690,489  49. 
Probably,  should  the  war  continue  for  another  year,  that 
amount  may  be  increased  by  not  far  from  five  hundred 
millions.  Held,  as  it  is  for  the  most  part,  by  our  own  people, 
it  has  become  a  substantial  branch  of  national,  though  pri- 
vate property. 

"For  obvious  reasons,  the  more  nearly  this  property  can 
be  distributed  among  all  the  people,  the  better.  To  forward 
general  distribution,  greater  inducements  to  become  owners, 
might,  perhaps,  with  good  effect  and  without  injury,  be  pre- 
sented to  persons  of  limited  means.  With  this  view,  I  sug- 
gest whether  it  might  not  be  both  expedient  and  competent 
for  Congress  to  provide  that  a  limited  amount  of  some  future 
issue  of  public  securities  might  be  held,  by  any  bond  fide 
purchaser,  exempt  from  taxation  and  from  seizure  for  debt, 
under  such  restrictions  and  limitations  as  might  be  necessaiy 
to  guard  against  abuse  of  so  important  a  privilege.  This 
would  enable  prudent  persons  to  set  aside  a  small  annuity 
against  a  possible  day  of  want. 

"  Privileges  like  these  would  render  the  possession  of  such 
securities,  to  the  amount  Kmited,  most  desirable  to  every 
person  of  small  means  who  might  be  able  to  save  enough  for 
the  purpose.  The  great  advantage  of  citizens  being  creditors 
Hs  well  as  debtors,  is  obvious.     Men  readily  perceive  that 


RE-ELECTED,  339 


Annual  Message.  The  Public  Debt.  National  Banking  System. 

they  cannot  be  much  oppressed  by  a  debt  which  they  owe  to 
themselves. 

"  The  public  debt  on  the  first  day  of  July  last,  although 
somewhat  exceeding  the  estimate  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  made  to  Congress  at  the  commencement  of  last  ses- 
sion, falls  short  of  the  estimate  of  that  office  made  in  the 
succeeding  December  as  to  its  probable  amount  at  the  be- 
ginning of  this  year,  by  the  sum  of  $3,995,079  33.  This  fact 
exhibits  a  satisfactory  condition  and  conduct  of  the  operations 
of  the  Treasury. 

"  The  National  banking  system  is  proving  to  be  acceptable 
to  capitalists  and  the  people.  On  the  25th  day  of  Novem- 
ber, five  hundred  and  eighty-four  National  Banks  had  been 
organized,  a  considerable  number  of  which  were  conversions 
from  State  banks.  Changes  from  the  State  system  to  the 
National  system  are  rapidly  taking  place,  and  it  is  hoped  that 
very  soon  there  will  be  in  the  United  States  no  banks  of 
issue  not  authorized  by  Congress,  and  no  bank-note  circu- 
lation not  secured  by  the  government.  That  the  government 
and  the  people  will  derive  general  benefit  from  this  change  in 
the  banking  system  of  the  country  can  hardly  be  questioned. 

"  The  National  system  will  create  a  reliable  and  perma- 
nent influence  in  support  of  the  national  credit,  and  protect 
the  people  against  losses  in  the  use  of  paper  money.  Whether 
or  not  any  further  legislation  is  advisable  for  the  suppression 
of  State  bank  issues,  it  will  be  for  Congress  to  determine.  It 
seems  quite  clear  that  the  Treasury  cannot  be  satisfactorily 
conducted  unless  the  government  can  exercise  restraining 
power  over  the  bank-note  circulation  of  the  country. 

"  The  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  the  accompany- 
ing documents,  will  detail  the  campaigns  of  the  armies  in  the 
field  since  the  date  of  the  last  annual  Message,  and  also  the 
operations  of  the  several  administrative  bureaus  of  the  AVar 
Department  during  the  last  year. 

"  It  will  also  specify  the  measures  deemed  essential  for  the 


340  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM   LIXCOLIST, 

Last  Annnal  Message.  The  Navy.  Prizes. 

national  defence,  and  to  keep  up  and  supply  the  requisite 
military  force. 

"  The  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  presents  a 
comprehensive  and  satisfactory  exhibit  of  the  affairs  of  that 
department  and  of  the  naval  service.  It  is  a  subject  of  con- 
gratulation and  laudable  pride  to  our  countrymen,  that  a 
navy  of  such  vast  proportions  has  been  organized  in  so  brief 
a  period  and  conducted  with  so  much  efficiency  and  success. 

"  The  general  exhibits  of  the  Navy,  including  vessels  under 
construction,  on  the  first  of  December,  1864,  shows  a  total 
of  611  vessels,  carrying  4,610  guns,  and  510,396  tons — being 
an  actual  increase  during  the  year  over  and  above  all  losses 
by  shipwreck  or  in  battle,  of  83  vessels,  167  guns,  and  42,427 
tons.  The  total  number  at  this  time  in  the  naval  service, 
including  officers,  is  about  51,000.  There  have  been  captured 
by  the  Navy  during  the  year,  324  vessels,  and  the  whole  num- 
ber of  naval  captures  siuce  hostilities  commenced  is  1,379, 
of  which  267  are  steamers.  The  gross  proceeds  arising  from 
the  sale  of  condemned  prize  property,  thus  far  reported, 
amount  to  $14,396,250  51. 

"A  large  amount  of  such  proceeds  is  Still  under  adjudica- 
tion and  yet  to  be  reported.  The  total  expenditures  of  the 
Navy  Department,  of  every  description,  including  the  cost  of 
the  immense  squadrons  that  have  been  called  into  existence, 
from  the  4th  of  March,  1861,  to  the  1st  of  November,  1864, 
are  $238,647,262  35.  Your  favorable  consideration  is  in- 
vited to  the  various  recommendations  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  especially  in  regard  to  a  navy  yard  and  suitable  estab- 
lishment for  the  construction  and  repair  of  iron  vessels,  and 
the  machinery  and  armature  for  our  ships,  to  which  reference 
was  made  in  my  last  annual  message. 

"Your  attention  is  also  invited  to  the  views  expressed  in 
the  report  in  relation  to  the  legislation  of  Congress  at  its  last 
session  in  respect  to  prizes  on  our  inland  waters. 

"  I  cordially  concur  in  the  recommendation  of  the  Secretary 


EE-ELEGTED.  341 


liast  Annual  Message.  Post-Office  Department.  The  Territories. 

as  to  the  propriety  of  creating  the  new  rank  of  "Vice-admiral 
in  our  naval  service. 

"  Your  attention  is  invited  to  the  report  of  the  Postmaster- 
General,  for  a  detailed  account  of  the  operations  and  financial 
condition  of  the  Post-Office  Department.  The  postal  revenues 
for  the  year  ending  June  30, 18G-4,  amounted  to  $12,438,253  18. 
and  the  expenditures  to  $12,644,786  20;  the  excess  of  ex- 
penditures over  receipts  being  $206,532  42. 

"  The  views  presented  by  the  Postmaster-General  on  the 
subject  of  special  grants  by  the  Government  in  aid  of  the  es- 
tablishment of  new  lines  of  ocean  mail  steamships,  and  the 
policy  he  recommends  for  the  development  of  increased  com- 
mercial intercourse  with  adjacent  and  neighboring  countries, 
should  receive  the  careful  consideration  of  Congress. 

"It  is  of  noteworthy  interest  that  the  steady  expansion  of 
population,  improvement  and  governmental  institutions  over 
the  new  and  unoccupied  portions  of  our  country  have  scarcely 
been  checked,  much  less  impeded  or  destroyed  by  our  great 
civil  war,  which,  at  first  glance,  would  seem  to  have  absorbed 
almost  the  entire  energies  of  the  Nation. 

"  The  organization  and  admission  of  the  State  of  Nevada 
has  been  completed  in  conformity  with  law,  and  thus  our 
excellent  system  is  firmly  established  in  the  mountains  which 
once  seemed  a  barren  and  uninhabitable  waste  between  the 
Atlantic  States  and  those  which  have  grown  up  on  the  coast 
of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

"  The  Territories  of  the  Union  are  generally  in  a  condition 
of  prosperity  and  growth.  Idaho  and  Montana,  by  reason  of 
their  great  distance  and  the  interruption  of  communication 
with  them  by  Indian  hostilities,  have  been  only  partially 
organized ;  but  it  is  understood  that  those  difficulties  are 
about  to  disappear,  which  will  permit  their  governments,  like 
those  of  the  others,  to  go  into  speedy  and  full  operation. 

"As  intimately  connected  with  and  promotive  of  this  mate- 
rial growth  of  the  Nation,  I  ask  the  attention  of  Congress  to 


842  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Annual  Message.  Public  Lands.  Pacific  Railways  and  Telegraph. 

the  valuable  information  and  important  recommendation  re- 
lating to  the  public  lands,  Indian  affairs,  the  Pacific  Railroad, 
and  mineral  discoveries  contained  in  the  report  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior,  which  is  herewith  transmitted,  and  which 
report  also  embraces  the  subjects  of  the  patents,  pensions, 
and  other  topics  of  public  interest  pertaining  to  his  Depart- 
ment. 

"The  quantity  of  public  land  disposed  of  during  the  five 
quarters  ending  on  the  30th  of  September  last,  was  4,221,342 
acres,  of  which  1,538,614  acres  were  entered  under  the  Home- 
stead law.  The  remainder  was  located  with  military  land 
warrants,  agricultural  script  certified  to  States  for  railroads, 
and  sold  for  cash.  The  cash  received  from  sales  and  location 
fees  was  $1,019,446.  The  income  from  sales  during  the  fis- 
cal year  ending  June  80,  1864,  was  $678,001  21,  against 
$136,017  95,  received  dm-ing  the  preceding  year.  The  aggre- 
gate number  of  acres  surveyed  during  the  year  has  been  equal 
to  the  quantity  disposed  of,  and  there  are  open  to  settlement 
about  133,000,000  acres  of  surveyed  land. 

"  The  great  enterprise  of  connecting  the  Atlantic  with  the 
Pacific  States  by  railways  and  telegraph  lines  has  been  entered 
upon  with  a  vigor  that  gives  assurance  of  success,  notwith- 
standing the  embarrassments  arising  from  the  prevailing  high 
prices  of  materials  and  labor.  The  route  of  the  main  line  of 
the  road  has  been  definitely  located  for  one  hundred  miles 
westward  from  the  initial  point  at  Omaha  City,  Nebraska, 
and  a  preliminary  location  of  the  Pacific  Railroad  of  Califor- 
nia has  been  made  from  Sacramento  eastward  to  the  great 
bend  of  Mucker  river,  in  Nevada.  Numerous  discoveries  of 
gold,  silver  and  cinnabar  mines  have  been  added  to  the  many 
heretofore  known,  and  the  country  occupied  by  the  Sierra 
Nevada  and  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  subordinate  ranges 
now  teems  with  enterprising  labor  which  is  richly  remunera- 
tive.    It  is  believed  that  the  products  of  the  mines  of  precious 


EE-ELECTED.  843 


Last  Annual  Message.  The  Indian  System.  Pensions. 

metals  in  that  region  have,  during  the  year  reached,  if  not 
exceeded,  $100,000,000  in  value. 

"  It  was  recommended  in  my  last  annual  message,  that  our 
Indian  system  be  remoddled.  Congress,  at  its  last  session, 
acting  upon  the  recommendation,  did  provide  for  reorganizing 
the  system  in  California,  and  it  is  believed  that  under  the 
present  organization  the  management  of  the  Indians  there 
will  be  attended  with  reasonable  success.  Much  yet  remains 
to  be  done  to  provide  for  the  proper  government  of  the  Indians 
in  other  parts  of  the  country,  to  render  it  secure  for  the  ad- 
vancing settler  and  to  provide  for  the  welfare  of  the  Indian. 
The  Secretary  reiterates  his  recommendations,  and  to  them 
the  attention  of  Congress  is  invited. 

"  The  liberal  provisions  made  by  Congress  for  paying 
pensions  to  invalid  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  Republic,  and 
to  the  widows,  orphans  and  dependent  mothers  of  those  who 
have  fallen  in  battle,  or  died  of  disease  contracted,  or  of 
wounds  received  in  the  service  of  their  country,  have  been 
diligently  administered. 

"  There  have  been  added  to  the  pension  rolls  during  the 
year  ending  the  thirtieth  day  of  June  last,  the  names  of  16,'7'70 
invalid  soldiers,  and  of  211  disabled  seamen,  making  the 
present  number  of  army  invalid  pensioners  22,*r6'7,  and  of 
navy  invalid  pensioners  112.  Of  widows,  orphans  and 
mothers,  22,198  have  been  placed  on  the  army  pension  rolls, 
and  248  on  the  navy  rolls. 

"  The  present  number  of  Army  pensioners  of  this  class  is 
25,433,  and  of  Navy  pensioners  793.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  year,  the  number  of  revolutionary  pensioners  was  1,430. 
Only  twelve  of  them  were  soldiers,  of  whom  seven  have  since 
died.  The  remainder  are  those  who,  under  the  law,  receive 
pensions  because  of  relationship  to  revolutionary  soldiers. 

"During  the  year  ending  the  thirtieth  of  June,  1864, 
$4,504,616  92  have  been  paid  to  pensioners  of  all  classes. 

"  I  cheerfully  commend  to  your  continued  patronage  the 


34:4  LIFE   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Last  Annual  Message.  Agricultural  Department.  The  Rebellion. 

benevolent  institutions  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  which 
have  hitherto  been  established  or  fostered  by  Congress,  and 
respectfully  refer  for  information  concerning  them,  and  in 
relation  to  the  Washington  Aqueduct,  the  Capitol,  and  other 
matters  of  local  interest  to  the  report  of  the  Secretary. 

"The  Agricultural  Department,  under  the  supervision  of 
its  present  energetic  and  faithful  head,  is  rapidly  commend- 
ing itself  to  the  great  and  vital  interest  it  was  intended  to 
advance.  It  is  peculiarly  the  People's  Department,  in  which 
they  feel  more  directly  concerned  than  in  any  other,  I  com- 
mend it  to  the  continued  attention  and  fostering  care  of  Con- 
gress. 

"  The  war  continues.  Since  the  last  annual  message,  all 
the  important  lines  and  positions  then  occupied  by  our  forces 
have  been  maintained,  and  our  armies  have  steadily  advanced, 
thus  liberating  the  regions  left  in  the  rear,  so  that  Missouri, 
Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  parts  of  other  States  have  again 
produced  reasonably  fair  crops. 

"  The  most  remarkable  feature  in  the  military  operations 
of  the  year,  is  General  Sherman's  attempted  march  of  three 
hundred  miles  directly  through  insurgent  regions.  It  tends 
to  show  a  great  increase  of  our  relative  strength,  that  our 
General-in-chief  should  feel  able  to  confront  and  hold  in  check 
every  active  force  of  the  enemy,  and  yet  to  detach  a  well- 
appointed,  large  army  to  move  on  such  an  expedition.  The 
result  not  being  yet  known,  conjecture  in  regard  to  it  is  not 
here  indulged. 

"  Important  movements  have  also  occurred  during  the 
year  to  the  effect  of  moulding  society  for  ductility  in  the 
Union.  Although  short  of  complete  success,  it  is  much  in 
the  right  direction  that  twelve  thousand  citizens  in  each  of 
the  States  of  Arkansas  and  Louisiana,  have  organized  loyal 
State  governments  with  free  Constitutions,  and  are  earnestly 
struggling  to  maintain  and  administer  them. 

"The  movement  in  the  same  direction,  more  extensive, 


EE-ELECTED.  345 


Annual  Mess;ige.  The  Rebellion.  Abolisbing  Slavery. 

though  less  definite,  in  Missouri,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee, 
should  not  be  overlooked. 

"But  Maryland  presents  the  example  of  complete  success. 
Maryland  is  secure  to  liberty  and  union  for  all  the  future. 
The  genius  of  rebellion  will  no  more  claim  Maryland.  Like 
another  foul  spirit,  being  driven  out,  it  may  seek  to  tear  her 
but  it  will  rule  her  no  more. 

"  At  the  last  Session  of  Congi'ess,  a  proposed  amendment 
of  the  Constitution  abolishing  slavery  throughout  the  United 
States,  passed  the  Senate,  but  failed,  for  lack  of  the  requisite 
two-thirds  vote  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  Although 
the  present  is  the  same  Congress,  and  nearly  the  same 
members,  and  without  question  on  the  patriotism  of  those 
who  stood  in  opposition,  I  venture  to  recommend  the  con- 
sideration and  passage  of  the  measure  at  the  present  session. 

"  Of  course  the  abstract  question  is  not  changed,  but  an 
intervening  election  shows  almost  certainly  that  the  next 
Congress  will  pass  the  measure,  if  this  does  not.  Hence 
there  is  only  a  question  of  time  as  to  when  the  proposed 
amendment  will  go  to  the  States  for  their  action  ;  and  as  it  is 
to  go  at  all  events,  may  we  not  agree  that  the  sooner  the 
better  ?  It  is  not  claimed  that  the  election  has  imposed  a 
duty  on  members  to  change  their  views  or  their  votes  any 
further  than  as  an  additional  element  to  be  considered. 
Their  judgment  may  be  affected  by  it. 

"  It  is  the  voice  of  the  people,  now  for  the  first  time  heard 
upon  the  question.  In  a  great  national  crisis  like  ours, 
unanimity  of  action  among  those  seeking  a  common  end  is 
very  desirable,  almost  indispensable,  and  yet  an  approach  to 
such  unanimity  is  attainable,  only  as  some  deference  shall  be 
paid  to  the  will  of  the  majority,  simply  because  it  is  the  wilj 
of  the  majority. 

"  In  this  case,  the  common  end  is  the  maintenance  of  the 
Union,  and  among  the  means  to  secure  that  end,  such  will, 
through  the  election,  is  most  clearly  declared  in  favor  of  such 


34:6  LIFE   OF  ABEAHAM   LINCOLN". 

Last  Annual  Message.  The  Union  to  be  Maintained. 

Constitutional  Amendment.  The  most  reliable  indication  of 
public  purpose  in  this  country  is  derived  through  our  popular 
election.  Judging  by  the  recent  canvass  and  its  result,  the 
purpose  of  the  people  within  the  loyal  States  to  maintain  the 
integrity  of  the  Union  was  never  more  firm  nor  more  nearly 
unanimous  than  now. 

"  The  extraordinary  calmness  and  good  order  with  which 
the  millions  of  voters  met  and  mingled  at  the  polls,  give 
strong  assurance  of  this.  Not  only  those  who  supported  the 
'  Union  Ticket,'  so  called,  but  a  great  majority  of  the  oppos- 
ing party  also,  may  be  fairly  claimed  to  entertain  and  to 
be  actuated  by  the  same  purpose.  It  is  an  unanswerable 
argument  to  this  eifect  that  no  candidate  to  any  office  what- 
ever, high  or  low,  has  ventured  to  seek  votes  on  the  avowal 
that  he  was  for  giving  up  the  Union. 

"  There  has  been  much  impugning  of  motives,  and  heated 
controversy  as  to  the  proper  means  and  best  mode  of  advanc- 
ing the  Union  cause,  but  in  the  distinct  issue  of  Union  or  no 
Union,  the  politicians  have  shown  their  distinctive  knowledge 
that  there  is  no  diversity  among  the  people.  In  affording 
the  people  a  fair  opportunity  of  showing  one  to  another  and 
to  the  world  this  firmness  and  unanimity  of  purpose,  the 
election  has  been  of  vast  value  to  the  National  cause. 

"  The  election  has  exhibited  another  fact  not  less  valuable 
to  be  known  in  the  fact  that  we  do  not  approach  exhaustion 
in  the  most  important  branch  of  the  national  resources,  that 
of  living  men.  While  it  is  melancholy  to  reflect  that  the  war 
has  filled  so  many  graves,  and  carried  mourning  to  so  many 
hearts,  it  is  some  relief  to  know  that,  compared  with  the  surviv- 
ing, the  fallen  have  been  so  few.  While  corps,  and  divisions, 
and  brigades,  and  regiments  have  formed,  and  fought  and 
dwindled,  and  gone  out  of  existence,  a  great  majority  of  the 
men  who  composed  them  are  still  living.  The  same  is  true 
of  the  naval  service.  The  election  returns  prove  this.  So 
many  votes  could  not  else  be  found.     The  States  regularly 


RE-ELECTED.  3-i7 


Last  Annual  Message.  Increstse  of  Voters.        National  Resources  Inexhaustible. 


holding  elections,  both  now  and  four  yeai'S  ago,  to  wit : 
California,  Connecticut,  Delaware,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa, 
Kentucky,  Maine,  Maryland,  Massachusetts,  Michigan, 
Minnesota,  Missouri,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  New 
York,  Ohio,  Oregon,  Pennsylvania,  Rhode  Island,  Yermont, 
"West  Yirginia,  and  Wisconsin,  cast  3,982,011  votes  now, 
against  3,870,222  then,  to  which  are  to  be  added  38,762 
cast  now  in  the  new  States  of  Kansas  and  Nevada,  which 
States  did  not  vote  in  1860  ;  thus  swelling  the  aggregate  to 
4,075,773,  and  the  net  increase  during  the  three  years  and  a 
half  of  war  to  145,751. 

"  To  this,  again,  should  be  added  the  number  of  all  soldiers 
in  the  field  from  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey, 
Delaware,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  California,  who,  by  the  laws 
of  those  States,  could  not  vote  away  from  their  homes,  and 
which  number  cannot  be  less  than  ninety  thousand.  Nor  yet 
is  this  all.  The  number  in  organized  territories  is  triple  now 
what  it  was  four  years  ago,  while  thousands,  white  and  black, 
join  us  as  the  National  army  forces  back  the  insurgent  lines. 
So  much  is  shown,  affirmatively  and  negatively,  by  the 
election. 

"  It  is  not  natural  to  inquire  how  the  increase  has  been 
produced,  or  to  show  that  it  would  have  been  greater  but  for 
the  war,  which  is  partially  true  ;  the  important  fact  remaining 
demonstrated,  that  we  have  more  men  now  than  we  had  when 
the  war  began  ;  that  we  are  not  exhausted,  nor  in  process  of 
exhaustion ;  that  we  are  gaining  strength,  and  may,  if  need 
be,  maintain  the  contest  indefinitely.     This  as  to  men. 

"  National  resources  are  now  more  complete  and  abundant 
than  ever  ;  the  National  resources,  then,  are  unexhausted,  and, 
as  we  believe,  inexhaustible.  The  public  purpose  to  reestab- 
lish and  maintain  the  National  authority  is  unchanged,  and, 
as  we  believe,  unchangeable.  The  manner  of  continuing  the 
effort  remains  to  choose.     On  careful  consideration  of  all  the 


348  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

liiist  Annual  Message.  The  Distinct  Issue.  Conditions  of  Peace. 

evidence  accessible,  it  seems  to  me  that  no  attempts  at  nego- 
tiation with  the  insurgent  leader  could  result  in  any  good. 

"  He  would  accept  of  nothing  short  of  the  severance  of  the 
Union.  His  declarations  to  this  effect  are  explicit  and  oft- 
repeated.  He  does  not  attempt  to  deceive  us.  He  affords 
us  no  excuse  to  deceive  ourselves.  We  cannot  voluntarily 
yield  it.  Between  him  and  us  the  issue  is  distinct,  simple, 
and  inflexible.  It  is  an  issue  which  can  only  be  tried  by  war, 
and  decided  by  victory. 

"  If  we  yield,  we  are  beaten ;  if  the  Southern  people  fail 
him,  he  is  beaten — either  way,  it  would  be  the  victory  and 
defeat  following  war  What  is  true,  however,  of  him  who 
heads  the  insurgent  cause,  is  not  necessarily  true  of  those  who 
follow.  Although  he  cannot  reaccept  the  Union,  they  can. 
Some  of  them,  we  know,  already  desire  peace  and  reunion. 
The  number  of  such  may  increase. 

"  They  can  at  any  moment  have  peace  simply  by  laying 
down  their  arms  and  submitting  to  the  National  authority 
under  the  Constitution.  After  so  much,  the  Government 
could  not,  if  it  would,  maintain  war  against  them.  The  loyal 
people  would  not  sustain,  or  allow  it,  If  questions  should 
I'emain,  we  would  adjust  them  by  the  peaceful  means  of  legis- 
lation, conference,  courts,  and  votes. 

"  Operating  only  in  constitutional  and  lawful  channels,  some 
certain  and  other  possible  questions  are  and  would  be  be- 
yond the  Executive  power  to  adjust ;  for  instance,  the  admis- 
sion of  members  into  Congress,  and  whatever  might  require 
the  appropriation  of  money. 

"  The  Executive  power  itself  would  be  really  diminished  by 
the  cessation  of  actual  war.  Pardons  and  remissions  of  forfeit- 
ure, however,  would  still  be  within  Executive  control.  In 
what  spirit  and  temper  this  control  would  be  exercised,  can 
be  fairly  judged  of  by  the  past.  A  year  ago  general  pardon 
and  amnesty  upon  specified  terms  were  offered  to  all  except 
certain  designated  classes,  and  it  was  at  this  same  time  made 


EE-ELECTED.  349 


Last  Anunal  Message.  Conditions  of  Peace. 

known  that  the  excepted  classes  were  still  within  contempla- 
tion of  special  clemency. 

"  During  the  year  many  availed  themselves  of  the  general 
provision,  and  many  more  would,  only  that  the  sign  of  bad 
faith  in  some  led  to  such  precautionary  measures-  as  rendered 
the  practical  power  less  easy  and  certain.  During  the  same 
time,  also,  special  pardons  have  been  granted  to  individuals 
of  excepted  classes,  and  no  voluntary  individual  application 
has  been  denied. 

"  Thus,  practically,  the  door  has  been  for  a  full  year  open 
to  all,  except  such  as  were  not  in  condition  to  make  free 
choice  ;  that  is,  such  as  were  in  custody  or  under  constraint. 
It  is  still  so  open  to  all ;  but  the  time  may  come,  probably 
will  come,  when  public  duty  shall  demand  that  it  be  closed, 
and  that,  in  lieu,  more  vigorous  measures  than  heretofore 
shall  be  adopted. 

"  In  presenting  the  abandonment  of  armed  resistance  to 
the  National  authority,  on  the  part  of  the  insurgents,  as  the 
only  indispensable  condition  to  ending  the  war  on  the  part 
of  the  Government,  I  retract  nothing  heretofore  said  as  to 
slavery.  I  repeat  the  declaration  made  a  year  ago,  that 
while  I  remain  in  my  present  position  I  shall  not  attempt  to 
retract  or  modify  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  nor  shall  I 
return  to  slavery  any  person  who  is  free  by  the  terms  of  that 
proclamation  or  by  any  of  the  acts  of  Congress. 

"If  the  people  should,  by  whatever  mode,  or  means,  make 
it  an  Executive  duty  to  re-enslave  such  persons,  another,  and 
not  I,  must  be  their  instrument  to  perform  it. 

"  In  stating  a  single  condition  of  peace,  I  mean  simply  to 

say  that  the  war  will  cease  on  the  part  of  the  Government 

whenever  it  shall  have  ceased  on  the   part  of  those  who 

began  it. 

"Abraham  Lincoln." 


850  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN". 

Speech  at  a  Sereuade.  Keply  to  a  Presentation  Address. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

TIGHTENING   THE    LINES. 

Speech  at  a  Serenade — Reply  to  a  Presentation  Address — Peace  Rumors — Rebel'Commia- 
siouers — Instructions  to  Secretary  Seward — The  Conference  in  Hampton  Roads — 
Result — Extra  Session  of  the  Senate — Military  Situation — Sherman — Charleston — Col- 
umbia— Wilmington — Fort  Fisher — Sheridan — Grant — Rebel  Congress — Second  Inaug- 
uration— ^Inaugural — English  Comment — Proclamation  to  Deserters. 

As  illustrative  of  the  genial,  pleasant  manner  of  the  Presi- 
dent, take  the  following,  in  response  to  a  serenade,  December 
6th,  1864 : 

"  Friends  and  Fellow-citizens  : — I  believe  I  shall  never 
be  old  enough  to  speak  without  embarrassment  when  I  have 
nothing  to  talk  about.  I  have  no  good  news  to  tell  you, 
and  yet  I  have  no  bad  news  to  tell.  We  have  talked  of  elec- 
tions until  there  is  nothing  more  to  say  about  them.  The 
most  interesting  news  we  now  have  is  from  Sherman.  We 
all  know  where  he  went  in  at,  but  I  can't  tell  where  he  will 
come  out  at.  I  will  now  close  by  proposing  three  cheers  for 
General  Sherman  and  his  army." 

On  the  24. th  of  January,  1865,  having  been  made  the  recip- 
ient of  a  beautiful  vase  of  skeleton  leaves,  gathered  from  the 
battle-field  of  Gettysburg,  which  had  been  subscribed  for  at 
the  great  Sanitary  Fair,  held  in  Philadelphia  during  the  pre- 
vious summer,  in  reply  to  the  warmly  sympathetic  and  appre- 
ciative address  of  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  entrusted 
with  the  presentation,  he  said  : 

"  Reverend  Sir,  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : — I  accept, 
with  emotions  of  profoundest  gratitude,  the  beautiful  gift  you 
have  been  pleased  to  present  to  me.     You  will,  of  course, 


TIGHTENING   THE   LINES.  851 

Reply  to  a  Presentation  Address.        Women  of  America.  Peace  Rumora, 

expect  that  I  acknowledge  it.  So  much  has  been  said  about 
Gettysburg,  and  so  well  said,  that  for  me  to  attempt  to  say 
more  may,  perhaps,  only  serve  to  weaken  the  force  of  that 
which  has  already  been  said. 

"A  most  graceful  and  eloquent  tribute  was  paid  to  the 
patriotism  and  self-denying  labors  of  the  American  ladies,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  consecration  of  the  National  Cemetery  at 
Gettysburg,  by  our  illustrious  friend,  Edward  Everett,  now, 
alas  !  departed  from  earth.  His  life  was  a  truly  great  one, 
and,  I  think,  the  greatest  pai't  of  it  was  that  which  crowned 
its  closing  years. 

"  I  wish  you  to  read,  if  you  have  not  already  done  so,  the 
glowing,  and  eloquent,  and  truthful  words  which  he  then 
spoke  of  the  women  of  America.  Truly  the  services  they 
have  rendered  to  the  defenders  of  our  country  in  this  perilous 
time,  and  are  yet  rendering,  can  never  be  estimated  as  they 
ought  to  be. 

"  For  your  kind  wishes  to  me,  personally,  I  beg  leave  to 
render  you,  likewise,  my  sincerest  thanks.  I  assure  you  they 
are  reciprocated.  And  now,  gentlemen  and"  ladies,  may  God 
bless  you  all," 

With  the  opening  of  the  new  year,  the  air — as  often  before 
— was  filled  with  rumors  that  the  insurgents  were  anxious  to 
negotiate  for  peace. 

Some  there  were,  even  among  Mr.  Lincoln's  friends  and 
supporters,  who  were  apprehensive  that  his  "  To  whom  it  may 
concern"  announcement  of  the  previous  year,  was  somewnat 
too  curt  and  blunt.  Without  claiming  to  have  as  good  an 
opportunity  as  the  President  for  judging  in  the  premises,  they 
could  not  yet  divest  themselves  of  the  idea  that  something 
definite  and  tangible  might  result  from  an  interview  with  rep- 
resentatives from  rebeldom  ;  if  nothing  more,  at  least  a  dis- 
tinct understanding  that  no  peace  could  be  attained,  without 
separation,  unless  it  were  conquered. 


os:o 


LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN", 


Rebel  Comniissioueis. 


Secretary  Seward's  Instructions. 


Thoroughly  familiar  with  the  designs  and  purposes  of  the 
leading  rebels  as  Mr.  Lincoln  was,  and  well  aware  that  any 
such  attempt  must  prove  futile,  he  was  nevertheless  deter- 
mined that  no  valid  ground  for  censure  should  be  afforded  by 
himself,  in  case  a  favorable  opening  presented  itself 

Accordingly,  when  he  learned — as  he  did  during  the  last 
week  of  January,  from  his  friend,  Francis  P.  Blair,  who  had 
visited  Richmond,  with  the  President's  permission — that  the 
managers  there  were  desirous  of  sending  certain  persons  as 
commissioners  to  learn  from  the  United  States  Government 
upon  what  terms  an  adjustment  of  difficulties  could  be  made, 
and  that  A.  H.  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  R.  M.  T.  Hunter,  of 
Virginia,  and  J.  A.  Campbell,  of  Alabama,  had  been  sent 
through  the  enemy's  lines  by  Davis  for  the  purpose  of  a  con- 
ference upon  the  subject,  Mr.  Lincoln,  not  choosing  that  the 
commissioners  should  visit  Washington,  entrusted  the  matter 
to  Secretary  Seward,  furnishing  him  with  the  following  letter 
of  instructions,  dated  Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  Jan- 
uary 31st,  1865  : 


"  Hon.  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State  : — You  will 
proceed  to  Fortress  Monroe,  Virginia,  there  to  meet  and 
informally  confer  with  Messrs.  Stephens,  Hunter,  and  Camp- 
bell, on  the  basis  of  my  letter  to  F.  P.  Blair,  Esq.,  of  Janu- 
ary 18,  1865,  a  copy  of  which  you  have.  \ 

"  You  will  make  known  to  them  that  three  things  are 
indispensable,  to  wit : 

"  1.  The  restoration  of  national  authority  throughout  all 
the  States. 

"  2.  No  receding  by  the  Executive  of  the  United  States, 
on  the  slavery  question,  from  the  position  assumed  thereon 
in  the  late  annual  message  to  Congress,  and  in  preceding 
documents. 

"  3.  No  cessation  of  hostilities  short  of  an  end  of  the  war 
and  the  disbanding  of  all  forces  hostile  to  the  Government. 


TIGHTENING   THE    LINES.  353 

Secretary  Seward's  Instructions.      Conference  in  Hampton  Roada.      Conference  Informal 

"  You  will  inform  them  that  all  propositions  of  theirs  not 
inconsistent  with  the  above,  will  be  considered  and  passed 
upon  in  a  spirit  of  sincere  liberality. 

"  You  will  hear  all  they  may  choose  to  say,  and  report  it  to 
me. 

"  You  will  not  assume  to  definitely  consummate  any  thing 
"Yours  truly,  A.Lincoln." 

On  the  2d  of  February,  the  President  himself  left  for 
the  point  designated,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  3d,  attended 
by  Mr.  Seward,  received  Messrs.  Stephens,  Hunter,  and 
Campbell,  on  board  a  United  States  steamer  anchored  in 
Hampton  Roads. 

The  conference  that  ensued  was  altogether  informal. 
There  was  no  attendance  of  Secretaries,  clerks,  or  witnesses. 
Nothing  was  written  or  read.  The  conversation,  although 
earnest  and  free,  was  calm  and  courteous  and  kind,  on  both 
sides.  The  Richmond  party  approached  the  discussion 
rather  indirectly,  and  at  no  time  did  they  make  categorical 
demands  or  tender  formal  stipulations  or  absolute  refusals : 
nevertheless,  during  the  conference,  which  lasted  four  hours, 
the  several  points  at  issue  between  the  Government  and 
the  insurgents  were  distinctly  raised  and  discussed  fully, 
intelligently,  and  in  an  amicable  spirit.  What  the  insurgent 
party  seemed  chiefly  to  favor  was  a  postponement  of  the 
question  of  separation,  upon  which  the  war  was  waged,  and 
a  mutual  direction  of  the  eiforts  of  the  Government  as  well 
as  those  of  the  insurgents,  to  some  extraneous  policy  or 
scheme  for  a  season,  during  which  passions  might  be  expected 
to  subside,  and  the  armies  be  reduced,  and  trade  and  inter- 
course between  the  people  of  both  sections  be  resumed. 

It  was  suggested  by  them  that  tlirough  such  postponement 

we  might  have  immediate  peace,  with  some,  not  very  certain, 

prospect  of  an  ultimate  satisfactory  adjustment  of  politica. 

relations  between  the  Government  and  the  States,  section  or 

23 


354:  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Canfereuce  iu  Ilampton  Roads.  The  Anti-Slavery  Policy.  Result, 

people  engaged  in  conflict  with  it.  The  suggesiion,  though 
deliberately  considered,  was  nevertheless  regarded  by  the 
President  as  one  of  armistice  or  truce,  and  he  announced  that 
we  could  agree  to  no  cessation  or  suspension  of  hostilities 
except  on  the  basis  of  the  disbandonment  of  the  insurgent 
forces,  and  the  restoration  of  the  national  authority  through- 
out all  the  States  in  the  Union  collaterally,  and  in  subordina- 
tion to  the  proposition  which  was  thus  announced. 

The  anti-slavery  policy  of  the  United  States  was  reviewed 
in  all  its  bearings,  and  the  President  announced  that  he  must 
not  be  expected  to  depart  from  the  positions  he  had  heretofore 
assumed  in  his  proclamation  of  emancipation  and  other  docu- 
ments, as  these  positions  were  reiterated  in  his  annual 
message. 

It  was  further  declared  by  the  President  that  the  complete 
restoration  of  the  national  authority  everywhere  was  an  indis- 
pensable condition  of  any  assent  on  our  part  to  whatever  form 
of  peace  might  be  proposed.  The  President  assured  the 
other  party  that  while  he  must  adhere  to  these  positions  he 
would  be  prepared,  so  far  as  power  was  lodged  with  the 
Executive,  to  exercise  liberality.  Its  power,  however,  is 
limited  by  the  Constitution,  and  when  peace  should  be  made 
Congress  must  necessarily  act  in  regard  to  appropriations  of 
money  and  to  the  admission  of  representatives  from  the  insur- 
rectionary States. 

The  Richmond  party  were  then  informed  that  Congress  had, 
on  the  31st  of  January,  adopted,  by  a  constitutional  majority, 
a  joint  resolution  submitting  to  the  several  States  the  pro- 
position to  abolish  slavery  throughout  the  Union,  and  that 
there  was  every  reason  to  expect  that  it  would  soon  be  ac- 
cepted by  three-fourths  of  the  States,  so  as  to  become  a  part 
of  the  national  organic  law. 

The  conference  came  to  an  end  by  mutual  acquiescence, 
without  producing  an  agreement  of  views  upon  the  several 
matters  discussed,  or  any  of  them. 


TIGHTENING   THE    LINES.  355 

Peace  Conference.  President's  Proclamation.  Senate  Convened. 

On  the  following  morning  the  President  and  Secretary  re- 
turned to  Washington,  and  shortly  afterward,  in  compliance 
with  a  resolution  to  that  effect,  Congress  was  informed  in 
detail  of  all  that  had  led  to  the  interview  and  its  issue. 

Thus  was  spiked  the  last  gun  bearing  upon  the  terms  on 
which  the  rebels  would  consent  to  peace.  Whatever  might 
have  been  the  impression  previously  it  was  then  well  under- 
stood that  to  the  armies  in  the  field  then  converging  toward 
Richmond,  and  not  to  the  Executive  of  the  nation,  resort  was 
to  be  had  for  peace  upon  any  basis  which  loyal  men  would 
indorse. 

On  the  Itth  of  February,  in  accordance  with  the  general 
custom  at  the  expiration  of  a  Presidential  term,  the  Senate 
was  convened  in  active  session  by  the  following  proclamation : 

"  Whereas,  objects  of  interest  to  the  United  States  require 
that  the  Senate  should  be  convened  at  twelve  o'clock  on  the 
fourth  of  March  next,  to  receive  and  act  upon  such  communi- 
cations as  may  be  made  to  it  on  the  part  of  the  Executive — 

"  Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States,  have  considered  it  to  be  my  duty  to  issue  this 
my  proclamation,  declaring  that  an  extraordinary  occasion 
requires  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  to  convene  for  the 
transaction  of  business,  at  the  Capitol,  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, on  the  fourth  day  of  March  next,  at  twelve  o'clock  at 
noon  on  that  day,  of  which  all  who  shall  at  that  time  be 
entitled  to  act  as  members  of  that  body  are  hereby  required 
to  take  notice. 

"  Given  under  my  hand  and  the  seal  of  the  United  Slates, 
at  Washington,  the  Hth  day  of  February,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-five,  and  of  tho 
Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  the  eighty 
ninth. 

"By  the  President:  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"William  H.   Seward,   Secretary  of  State.'' 


856  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN". 

The  Military  Situation.  Thomas  at  Nashville.  Sherman  at  Golflsborough 

At  this  time,  the  military  situation  was  very  interesting  to 
every  friend  of  the  Union,  whatever  might  have  been  the 
feelings  it  created  among  those  who  had  so  long  been  in  arms 
against  the  Government. 

Sherman  had  "  come  out"  at  Savannah,  capturing  it  and 
presenting  it  as  a  Christmas  gift  to  the  nation,  after  an  ex- 
traordinary march  from  Atlanta — which  he  had  deprived  of 
all  power  for  harm — directly  through  the  heart  of  Georgia ; 
a  march  as  to  which  the  rebel  journalists  made  ludicrous 
efforts  to  be  oracular  in  advance,  predicting  all  manner  of 
mishaps  from  the  Georgia  militia  and  the  various  "  lions"  in 
his  way. 

Thomas  had  fallen  back  leisurely  to  Nashville,  forcing 
Hood,  his  antagonist,  who  had  supplanted  Johnston  on  ac- 
count of  his  fighting  qualities,  to  the  loss  of  almost  his  entire 
army  in  a  sanguinary  battle  which  occurred  near  that  city, 
Thomas  being  the  attacking  party.  With  the  remnants  of 
his  discomfited  force,  the  fighting  general  had  fallen  back, 
where  was  not  definitely  known,  but  evidently  to  some  secure 
support. 

Sherman  having  recuperated  his  army,  had  left  Savannah 
and  marched  into  South  Carolina,  where,  according  to  the 
beforenamed  veracious  chroniclers,  he  was  to  flounder  in 
bogs  and  quagmires,  at  the  mercy  of  his  valorous  foes.  He 
floundered  on,  truly — floundered,  so  as  to  flank  Charleston, 
that  nursery  and  hot-bed  of  treason,  which  had  so  long  in- 
sulted the  land — and  compel  its  hurried  evacuation  ;  floun- 
dered, so  as  to  capture  and  occupy  Columbia,  the  capital  of 
the  Palmetto  State  ;  floundered,  so  as  to  threaten  Raleigh, 
the  capital  of  North  Carolina;  and  at  the  time  of  which  we 
wiite,  had  at  last  floundered  to  Goldsborough,  where  he  had 
effected  a  connection  with  another  column,  which  had  pierced 
to  that  point  after  the  capture  of  Wilmington,  North  Carolina, 
the  pet  port  of  disinterested  blockade-runners — a  capture 
rendered  certain  by  the  storming  of  Fort  Fisher,  commanding 


TIGHTENING   THE   LINES.  857 

The  Military  Situation.  Sbsridan  and  Grant.  Second  Inauguration. 

the  entrance  to  its  harbor,  in  connection  with  which  one 
Major-General  was  made  and  another  unmade — whether  the 
latter  result  was  brought  about  with  or  without  the  coopera- 
tion of  the  commander  of  the  naval  part  of  the  expedition,  it 
boots  not  here  to  inquire. 

Whither  Sherman  would  flounder  next  became  to  all 
rebeldom  a  question  of  the  very  deepest  interest.  Davis 
having  been  compelled  by  his  Congress  to  assign  the  discarded 
Johnston  to  a  command,  and  Lee  to  the  command  of  all  the 
rebel  armies,  Johnston  was  dispatched  to  head  Sherman  off, 
should  he  be  insane  enough  to  attempt  to  move  any  nearer 
Richmond — a  species  of  insanity  to  which,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed, he  had  shown  a  marked  tendency. 

Sheridan,  too,  having  chased  Early  up  and  out  of  the 
Shenandoah  Yalley — that  Early  the  one  of  whom  his  troops 
were  wont  to  remark,  that  his  principal  business  seemed  to 
be  "  to  trade  Confederate  cannon  for  Yankee  whiskey" — had 
been  raiding  around  Richmond  in  whatsoever  direction  he 
listed,  severing  communications,  gobbling  up  supplies,  and 
creating  a  general  consternation. 

And  still  the  bull-dog's  teeth  were  firmly  fastened  in  his 
victim.  Not  twistings,  nor  squirmings,  nor  stragglings,  nor 
counterbites  could  do  more  than  to  defer — and  that  but  for  a 
short  time — the  inevitable. 

The  rebel  congress,  at  the  very  last  moment  of  its  last 
session,  had  squeezed  through  a  bill  for  arming  the  slaves, 
and  Davis  had  grimly  wished  them  a  safe  and  pleasant 
journey  to  their  respective  homes.  It  was  too  late,  both  for 
the  slaves  and  the  homes. 

Meantime,  on  Saturday,  March  4th — a  day  which  opened 
unpropitiously,  so  far  as  the  elements  were  concerned,  but 
which  redeemed  itself  before  noontide,  becoming  bright  and 
cheerful — at  the  hour  appointed,  the  oath  of  office  was  for  the 
second  time  administered  to  Mr.  Lincoln — not,  however,  by 
the  same  Chief  Justice,  for  Roger  B.  Taney  slept  with  his 


358  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


Becond  Inauguration.  Inaugural  Address. 


fathers,  and  in  his  place  stood  Salmon  P.  Chase — after 
which,  on  a  staging  erected  at  the  eastern  portico  of  the 
Capitol,  he  read  in  a  clear,  distinct  voice,  his  second  in- 
augural, occupying  not  more  than  ten  minutes  in  the  act : 

"  Fellow-countrymen  : — At  this  second  appearing  to  take 
the  ^oath  of  the  Presidential  office,  there  is  less  occasion  for 
an  extended  address  than  there  was  at  the  first.  Then  a 
statement  somewhat  in  detail  of  a  course  to  be  pursued 
seemed  very  fitting  and  proper.  Now,  at  the  expiration  of 
four  years,  during  which  public  declarations  have  constantly 
been  called  forth  on  every  point  and  phase  of  the  great  con- 
test which  still  absorbs  the  attention .  and  engrosses  the 
energies  of  the  nation,  little  that  is  new  could  be  presented. 

"  The  progress  of  our  arms,  upon  which  all  else  chiefly 
depends,  is  as  well  known  to  the  public  as  to  myself,  and  it 
is,  I  trust,  reasonably  satisfactory  and  encouraging  to  all. 
With  high  hope  for  the  future,  no  prediction  in  regard  to  it 
is  ventured.  On  the  occasion  corresponding  to  this  four 
years  ago,  all  thoughts  were  anxiously  directed  to  an  im- 
pending civil  war.  All  dreaded  it,  all  sought  to  avoid  it. 
While  the  inaugural  address  was  being  delivered  from  this 
place,  devoted  altogether  to  saving  the  Union  without  war, 
insurgent  agents  were  in  the  city  seeking  to  destroy  it,  with- 
out war ;  seeking  to  dissolve  the  Union  and  divide  the  effects 
by  negotiation. 

"Both  parties  deprecated  war,  but  one  of  them  would 
make  war  rather  than  let  the  nation  survive,  and  the  other 
would  accept  war  rather  than  let  it  perish,  and  the  war  came. 

"  One-eighth  of  the  whole  population  were  colored  slaves, 
not  distributed  generally  over  the  Union,  but  located  in  the 
southern  part  of  it.  These  slaves  constituted  a  peculiar  and 
powerful  interest.  All  knew  that  this  interest  was  somehow 
the  cause  of  the  war.  To  strengthen,  perpetuate  and  extend 
this  interest  was  the  object  for  which  the  insurgents  would 


TIGHTENING   THE   LINES.  359 

Setond  Inauguration.  Inaugural  Address. 

retycl  the  Union  by  war,  while  the  Government  claimed  no 
right  to  do  more  than  to  restrict  the  territorial  enlargement 
of  it.  Neither  party  expected  the  magnitude  or  the  duration 
which  it  has  already  attained.  Neither  anticipated  that  the 
cause  of  the  conflict  might  cease,  even  before  the  conflict 
itself  should  cease.  Each  looked  for  an  easier  triumph  and  a 
result  less  fundamental  and  astounding.  Both  read  the  same 
Bible  and  pray  to  the  same  God,  and  each  invokes  his  aid 
against  the  other.  It  may  seem  strange  that  any  man  should 
dare  to  ask  a  just  God's  assistance  in  wringing  his  bread  from 
the  sweat  of  other  men's  faces.  But  let  us  judge  not,  that 
we  be  not  judged. 

"  The  prayer  of  both  should  not  be  answered.  That  of 
neither  has  been  answered  fully.  The  Almighty  has  his 
own  purposes.  '  Woe  unto  the  world  because  of  offences,  for 
it  must  needs  be  that  offences  come,  but  woe  to  that  man  by 
whom  the  offence  cometh.'  If  we  shall  suppose  that  Ame- 
rican slavery  is  one  of  these  offences  which,  in  the  providence 
of  God,  must  needs  come,  but  which,  having  continued 
through  his  appointed  time,  he  now  wills  to  remove,  and 
that  he  gives  to  both  North  and  South  this  terrible  war  as 
the  woe  due  to  those  by  whom  the  offence  came,  shall  we 
discern  therein  any  departure  from  those  Divine  attributes 
which  the  believers  in  a  living  God  always  ascribe  to  him  ? 

"  Fondly  do  we  hope,  fervently  do  we  pray  that  this 
mighty  scourge  of  war  may  speedily  pass  away.  Yet,  if 
God  wills  that  it  continue  until  all  the  wealth  piled  by  the 
bondman's  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil 
shall  be  sunk  and  until  every  drop  of  blood  drawn  by  the 
lash  shall  be  paid  by  another  drawn  with  the  sword,  as  was 
said  three  thousand  years  ago,  so  still  it  must  be  said,  that 
the  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous  altogether. 

"With  malice  towards  none,  with  charity  for  all,  with 
firmness  in  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let  us 
strive  on  to  finish  the  work  we  are  in,  to  bind  up  the  nation's 


860  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Inaugural  Address.  A  Remarkable  Production.  Proelamation. 

wounds,  to  care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne  the  battle,  and 
for  his  widow  and  his  orphans,  to  do  all  which  may  achieve 
and  cherish  a  just  and  lasting  peace  among  ourselves  and 
with  all  nations." 

Of  this  address — which  was  of  course  made  the  subject  for 
the  coarsest  comments  of  those  who  enjoyed  nought  so  much 
as  aiding  the  pack  that  hounded  Mr.  Lincoln  while  living — • 
an  English  journal,  second  to  none  in  ability  and  judgment, 
and  leader  of  the  better  class  of  thinkers  in  that  country, 
thus  spoke : 

"  It  is  the  most  remarkable  thing  of  the  sort,  ever  pro- 
nounced by  any  President  of  the  United  States  from  the  first 
day  until  now.  Its  Alpha  and  its  Omega  is  Almighty  God, 
the  God  of  justice  and  the  Father  of  mercies,  who  is  working 
out  the  purposes  of  his  love.  It  is  invested  with  a  dignity 
and  pathos,  which  lift  it  high  above  every  thing  of  the  kind, 
whether  in  tbe  Old  World  or  the  New.  The  whole  thing 
puts  us  in  mind  of  the  best  men  of  the  English  Common- 
wealth ;  there  is,  in  fact,  much  of  the  old  prophet  about  it." 

On  the  16th  of  March,  in  accordance  with  an  Act  of  Con- 
gress, grace  was  extended  to  deserters  by  the  following  pro- 
clamation : 

"  Whereas,  The  twenty-first  section  of  the  act  of  Congress, 
approved  on  the  3d  instant,  entitled  '  an  act  to  amend  the 
several  acts  heretofore  passed  to  provide  for  the  enrolling  and 
calling  out  of  the  National  forces,  and  for  other  purposes,'  re- 
quires that,  in  addition  to  the  other  lawful  penalties  of  the 
crime  of  desertion  from  the  military  or  naval  service,  '  all 
persons  who  have  deserted  the  military  or  naval  service  of 
tbe  United  States,  who  shall  not  return  to  the  said  service 
or  report  themselves  to  a  provost-marshal  within  sixty  days 
lifter  the  proclamation  hereinafter  mentioned,  shall  be  deemed 
uud  taken  to  have  voluntarily  relinquished  and  forfeited  their 


TIGHTENING   THE   LINES.  361 

Proclamation  to  Deserters.  PeuaUiea  for  coutiuued  Absence. 

rights  to  become  citizens ;  and  such  deserters  shall  be  forever 
incapable  of  holding  any  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the 
United  States,  or  of  exercising  any  rights  of  citizens  thereof; 
and  all  persons  who  shall  hereafter  desert  the  military  or 
naval  service,  and  all  persons  who,  being  duly  enrolled,  shall 
depart  the  jurisdiction  of  the  district  in  which  he  is  enrolled, 
or  go  beyond  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  with  the  intent 
to  avoid  any  draft  into  the  military  or  naval  service  duly  or- 
dered, shall  be  liable  to  the  penalties  of  this  section.  And 
the  President  is  hereby  authorized  and  required  forthwith,  on 
the  passage  of  this  act,  to  issue  his  proclamation  setting  forth 
the  provisions  of  this  section,  in  which  proclamation  the 
President  is  requested  to  notify  all  deserters  returning  within 
sixty  days,  as  aforesaid,  that  they  shall  be  pardoned  on  con- 
dition of  returning  to  their  regiments  and  companies,  or  to 
such  other  organizations  as  they  may  be  assigned  to,  unless 
they  shall  have  served  for  a  period  of  time,  equal  to  their 
original  term  of  enlistment' — 

"Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States,  do  issue  this  my  proclamation,  as  required  by 
said  act,  ordering  and  requiring  all  deserters  to  return  to 
their  proper  posts,  and  I  do  hereby  notify  them  that  all 
deserters  who  shall  within  sixty  days  from  the  date  of  this 
proclamation,  viz.:  on  or  before  the  tenth  day  of  May,  1865, 
return  to  service,  or  report  themselves  to  a  provost- mar-shal, 
shall  be  pardoned,  on  condition  that  they  return  to  their  regi- 
ments and  companies  or  such  other  organizations  as  they  may 
be  assigned  to,  and  serve  the  remainder  of  their  original  terms 
of  enlistment,  and,  in  addition  thereto,  a  period  equal  to  the 
time  lost  by  desertion. 

"  In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  eleventh  day  of 
March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 


362  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN". 

Presideat  goes  to  the  Front.  Capture  of  Petersburg.  Richmond. 

and  sixty-five,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States 
the  eighty-ninth. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"W.  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 


CHAPTER    XXIY. 

IN   RICHMOND 

President  Visits  City  Point — Lee's  Failure — Grant's  Movement — Abraham  Lincoln  in 
Richmond — Lee's  Surrender — ^President's  Impromptu  Speech — Speech  on  Reconstruc- 
tion— Proclamation  Closing  Certain  Ports — Proclamation  Relative  to  Maritime  Rights — 
Supplementary  Proclamation — Orders  from  the  War  Department — The  Traitor  President. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  23d  of  March,  1865,  the  President, 
accompanied  by  Mrs.  Lincoln,  his  youngest  son,  and  a  few  in- 
vited guests,  left  Washington  for  an  excursion  to  City  Point. 
The  trip  was  taken  under  advice  of  his  medical  attendant,  his 
health  having  become  somewhat  impaired  by  his  unremitting 
attention  to  the  pressing  duties  of  his  office. 

A  desperate  attempt  had  been  made  by  Lee  to  break 
through  the  lines  surrounding  him.  Assaulting  our  right 
centre,  he  had  been  repulsed  with  a  severe  loss. 

Shortly  after,  Grant  determined  that  the  moment  had 
arrived  for  his  advance.  A  movement  was  ordered  along 
the  entire  line — Petersburg  fell — Richmond  was  abandoned 
in  hot  haste — and  Lee's  routed  army  "driven  to  the  wall." 

During  the  progress  of  the  movement,  the  President  for- 
warded, from  time  to  time,  the  particulars — pressed  on  to 
the  evacuated  Capital — entered  it,  conspicuous  amid  the 
sweeping  mass  of  men,  women,  and  children,  black,  white, 
and  yellow,  running,  shouting,  dancing,  swinging  their  caps, 
bonnets,  and  handkerchiefs — passed  on  to  the  deserted  man- 
sion of  the  rebel  chief,  cheer  upon  cheer  going  up  from  the 


IN   EICHMOND.  863 


Leo  Surreiidfers.  Terms  of  Capitulation.  Sherman  in  Motion. 

excited  multitude — there  held  a  levee — left  the  same  evening 
for  City  Point — and  soon  afterward  returned  to  Washington. 
Lee,  hemmed  in  on  every  side,  soon  after  surrendered;  the 
terms  of  capitulation,  which  were  dictated  by  the  magnanimous 
President,  and  dated  Appomattox  Court  House,  April  ninth, 
1865,  being  as  follows  : 

"General  Robert  E.  Lee,  Army  C.  S.  : — In  accordance 
with  the  substance  of  my  letter  to  you  of  the  8th  Inst.,  I  pro- 
pose to  receive  the  surrender  of  the  army  of  Northern  Vir- 
ginia on  the  following  terms,  to  wit:  Rolls  of  all  the  officers 
and  men  to  be  made  in  duplicate,  one  copy  to  bo  given  to  an 
officer  designated  by  me,  the  other  to  be  retained  by  such 
officer  or  officers  as  you  may  designate,  the  officers  to  give 
their  individual  paroles  not  to  take  up  arms  against  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  until  properly  exchanged, 
and  each  company  or  regimental  commander  to  sign  a  like 
parole  for  the  men  of  their  commands.  The  arms,  artillery, 
and  public  property  to  be  parked  and  stacked,  and  turned 
over  to  the  officers  appointed  by  me  to  receive  them.  This 
will  not  embrace  the  side  arms  of  the  officers,  nor  their  private 
horses  or  baggage.  This  done,  each  officer  and  man  will  be 
allowed  to  return  to  their  homes,  not  to  be  disturbed  by 
United  States  authority  so  long  as  they  observe  their  parole 
and  the  laws  in  force  where  they  may  reside. 
"  Yery  respectfully, 

"  U.  S.  Grant,  Lieutenant-General." 

Johnston  was  next  in  order  ;  and  toward  him  Sherman  was 
in  motion. 

The  night  following  the  President's  arrival  in  Washington, 
the  workmen  of  the  Navy-yard  formed  in  procession,  marched 
to  the  White  House,  in  front  of  which  thousands  were  as- 
sembled, bands  playing,  and  the  entire  throng  alive  with  ex- 
citement. 

Repeated  calls  having  been  made  for  him,  he  appeared  at 


361  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

President's  Impromptu  Speech.  Likes  "Dixie."  Illumination. 

the  window,  oq  the  entrance  door,  calm  amid  the  tumult,  and 
was  greeted  with  cheers  and  waving  of  hats. 

Comparative  silence  having  been  secured,  he  said  : 

"  My  Friends  : — I  am  very  greatly  rejoiced  that  an  occa- 
sion has  occurred  so  pleasurable  that  the  people  can't  restrain 
themselves.  I  suppose  that  arrangements  are  being  made 
for  some  sort  of  formal  demonstration — perhaps  this  evening 
or  to-morrow  night.  If  there  should  be  such  a  demonstra- 
tion, I,  of  course,  will  have  to  respond  to  it;  and  I  will  have 
nothing  to  say  if  you  dribble  it  out  of  me. 

"  I  see  you  have  a  band.  I  propose  now  closing  up  by 
requesting  you  to  play  a  certain  piece  of  music,  or  a  tune — ■ 
I  thought  '  Dixie'  one  of  the  best  tunes  I  ever  heard. 

"  I  had  heard  that  our  adversaries  over  the  way  had  at- 
tempted to  appi'opriate  it.  I  insisted  yesterday  we  had 
fairly  captured  it !  I  presented  the  question  to  the  Attorney 
General,  and  he  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  it  is  our  lawful 
prize.     I  ask  the  band  to  give  us  a  good  turn  upon  it." 

The  band  accordingly  played  "  Dixie,"  with  extraordinary 
vigor,  when  "  three  cheers  and  a  tiger"  were  given,  followed 
by  the  tune  of  "Yankee  Doodle."  The  President  then  pro- 
posed three  rousing  cheers  for  Grant  and  all  under  his  com- 
-  mand — and  next,  three  cheers  for  the  Navy  and  all  its  forces. 

The  President  then  retired,  amid  cheers,  the  tune  of  "  Hail 
Columbia,"  and  the  firing  of  cannon. 

On  the  night  of  the  eleventh  of  April,  the  Executive  Depart- 
ments, including  the  President's  House,  as  also  many  places 
of  busmess  and  private  residences,  were  illuminated,  and 
adorned  with  transparencies  and  national  flags  ;  bon-fires 
olazed  in  various  parts  of  the  city ;  and  rockets  were  fired. 

In  response  to  the  unanimous  call  of  the  thousands  of 
both  sexes  who  surrounded  the  Executive  Mansion,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln appeared   at  an  upper  window,  and  when  the  cheering 


IN    RICHMOXD.  365 


Illumination.  President's  Last  Public  Speech.  Reconstruction  Begun. 


with  which  he  was  greeted  had  subsided,  spoke  as  follows 
in  his  last  public  speech  : 

"Fellow-Citizens  : — We  meet  this  evening,  not  in  sorrow, 
but  in  gladness  of  heart.  The  evacuation  of  Petersburg  and 
Richmond,  and  the  surrender  of  the  principal  insurgent 
army,  give  hope  of  a  righteous  and  speedy  peace,  whose  joy- 
ous expression  cannot  be  restrained. 

"  In  the  midst  of  this,  however.  He,  from  whom  all  bless- 
ings flow,  must  not  be  forgotten.  A  call  for  a  National 
Thanksgiving  is  being  prepared,  and  will  be  duly  promul- 


gated. 


"  Nor  must  those,  whose  harder  part  gives  us  the  cause  of 
rejoicing,  be  overlooked — and  their  honors  must  not  be  par- 
celled out.  With  others  T  myself  was  near  the  front,  and 
had  the  high  pleasure  of  transmitting  much  of  the  good  news 
to  you,  but  no  part  of  the  honor,  or  praise,  or  execution,  is 
mine.  To  General  Grant,  his  skilful  officers  and  brave  men, 
all  belongs.  The  gallant  Navy  stood  ready,  but  was  not  m 
reach  to  take  an  active  part.  By  these  recent  successes  the 
reinauguration  of  the  national  authority,  and  the  reconstruc- 
tion, which  has  had  a  large  share  of  thought  from  the  first, 
is  pressed  much  more  closely  upon  our  attention. 

"  It  is  fraught  with  great  difficulty.  Unlike  the  case  of  a 
war  between  independent  nations,  there  is  no  authorized 
organ  for  us  to  treat  with.  No  one  man  has  authority  to 
give  up  the  rebellion  for  any  other  man.  We  simply  must 
begin  with  and  mould  from  disorganized  and  discordant  ele- 
ments. Nor  is  it  a  small  additional  embarrassment,  that  we 
the  loyal  people,  differ  amongst  ourselves  as  to  the  mode, 
manner,  and  measure  of  reconstruction. 

"As  a  general  rule,  I  abstain  from  reading  the  reports  of 
attacks  upon  myself,  wishing  not  to  be  provoked  by  that  to 
which  I  cannot  properly  offer  an  answer ;  for,  spite  of  this 
precaution,  however,  it  comes  to  my  knowledge  that  I  am 


366  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Last  Public  Speech.  Difficulties  of  Reconstruction.  I^misiana. 

niucb  censured  from  some  supposed  agency  in  setting  up  and 
seeking  to  sustain  the  new  State  Government  of  Louisiana. 
In  this  I  have  done  just  so  much  and  no  more  than  the  pub- 
lic knows.  In  the  annual  Message  of  December,  1863,  and 
the  accompanying  Proclamation,  I  presented  a  plan  of  recon- 
struction, as  the  phrase  goes,  which  I  pro.mised,  if  adopted 
by  any  State,  should  be  acceptable  to  and  sustained  by  the 
Executive  Government  of  the  nation. 

"  I  distinctly  stated  that  this  was  not  the  only  plan  which 
might  possibly  be  acceptable  ;  and  I  also  distinctly  protested 
that  the  Executive  claimed  no  right  to  say  when  or  whether 
members  should  be  admitted  to  seats  in  Congress  from  such 
States.  This  plan  was  in  advance  submitted  to  the  then 
Cabinet,  and  as  distinctly  approved  by  every  member  of  it. 
"One  of  them  suggested  that  I  should  then,  and  in  that  con- 
nection, apply  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  to  the  thereto- 
fore excepted  parts  of  Virginia  and  Louisiana  ;  that  I  should 
drop  the  suggestion  about  apprenticeship  for  freed  people  ; 
and  that  I  should  omit  the  protest  against  my  own  power  in 
regard  to  the  admission  of  members  of  Congress  ;  but  even  he 
approved  every  part  and  parcel  of  the  plan  which  has  since 
been  employed  or  touched  by  the  action  of  Louisiana.  The 
new  Constitution  of  Louisiana,  declaring  emancipation  for  the 
whole  State,  particularly  applies  the  proclamation  to  the  part 
previously  excepted.  It  does  not  adopt  apprenticeship  for 
freed  people,  and  it  is  silent — as  it  could  not  well  be  other- 
wise— about  the  admission  of  members  to  Congress  ;  so  that, 
as  it  applies  to  Louisiana,  every  member  of  the  Cabinet  fully 
approved  the  plan. 

"  The  message  went  to  Congress,  and  I  received  many 
commendations  of  the  plan,  written  and  verbal,  and  not  a 
single  objection  to  it  by  any  professed  emancipationist  came 
to  my  knowledge  until  after  the  news  reached  Washington 
that  the  people  of  Louisiana  had  begun  to  move  in  accordance 
with  it      From  about  July,  1862,  I  had  corresponded  with 


IN   RICHMOND.  867 

Last  Public  Speech.  Difficulties  of  Reconstruction.  Louisiana. 

different  persons  supposed  to  be  interested  in  seeking  a  re- 
construction of  a  State  Government  for  Louisiana.  When  the 
message  of  1863,  with  the  plan  before  mentioned,  reached 
New  Orleans,  and  General  Banks  wrote  me  that  he  was  con- 
fident the  people,  with  his  military  cooperation,  would  recon- 
struct substantially  on  that  plan,  I  wrote  him  and  some  of 
them  to  try  it.     They  tried  it,  and  the  result  is  known. 

"  Such  only  has  been  my  agency  in  getting  up  the  Louisi- 
ana Government.  As  to  sustaining  it,  my  promise  is  out,  as 
before  stated ;  but,  as  bad  promises  are  better  broken  than 
kept,  I  shall  treat  this  as  a  bad  promise,  and  break  it  when- 
ever I  shall  be  convinced  that  keeping  it  is  adverse  to  the 
public  interest.     But  I  have  not  yet  been  so  convinced. 

"  I  have  been  shown  a  letter  on  this  subject,  supposed  to 
be  an  able  one,  in  which  the  writer  expresses  regret  that  my 
mind  has  not  seemed  to  be  definitely  fixed  on  the  question 
whether  the  seceded  States,  so  called,  are  in  the  Union  or  out 
of  it.  It  would,  perhaps,  add  astonishment  to  his  regret 
were  he  to  learn  that  since  I  have  found  professed  Union  men 
endeavoring  to  make  that  a  question,  I  have  purposely  for- 
borne any  public  expression  upon  it,  as  it  appears  to  me  that 
question  has  not  been,  nor  yet  is,  a  practically  material  one, 
and  that  any  discussion  of  it  while  it  thus  remains  practically 
material  could  have  no  effect  other  than  the  mischievous  one 
of  dividing  our  friends. 

"As  yet,  whatever  it  may  become  hereafter,  that  question 
is  bad,  as  the  basis  of  a  controversy,  and  good  for  nothing  at 
all,  a  merely  pernicious  abstraction.  "We  all  agree  that  the 
seceded  States,  so-called,  are  out  of  their  proper  practical 
i'elation  with  the  Union,  and  that  the  sole  object  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, civil  and  military,  in  regard  to  those  States,  is  to 
again  get  them  into  that  proper  practical  relation.  I  believe 
it  is  not  only  possible,  but  in  fact  easier  to  do  this  without 
deciding  or  even  considering  whether  these  States  have  ever 
been  out  of  the  Union,  than  with  it ;  finding  themselves  safely 


168  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN". 


Last  Public  Siicech.  The  Louisiana  Government.  DifSculties  of  Reconstruction. 

at  home,  it  would  be  utterly  immaterial  whether  they  had 
ever  been  abroad. 

"  Let  us  all  join  in  doing  the  acts  necessary  to  restoring  the 
proper  practical  relations  between  these  States  and  the  Union, 
and  each  forever  after,  innocently  indulge  his  own  opinion 
whether  in  doing  the  acts  he  brought  the  States  from  without 
into  the  Union,  or  only  gave  them  proper  assistance,  they 
never  having  been  out  of  it. 

"  The  amount  of  constituency,  so  to  speak,  on  which  the 
new  Louisiana  Government  rests,  would  be  more  satisfactory 
to  all  if  it  contained  50,000,  30,000,  or  even  20,000,  instead 
of  only  about  12,000,  as  it  does. 

"  It  is  also  unsatisfactory  to  some  that  the  elective  franchise 
is  not  given  to  the  colored  men.  I  would  myself  prefer  that 
it  were  conferre-d  on  the  very  intelligent,  and  on  those  who 
serve  our  cause  as  soldiers.  Still  the  question  is  not  whether 
the  Louisiana  Government,  as  it  stands,  is  quite  all  that  is 
desirable.  The  question  is,  will  it  be  wiser  to  take  it  as  it  is, 
and  help  to  improve  it,  or  to  reject  and  disperse  it  ?  Can 
Louisiana  be  brought  into  proper  practical  relation  with  the 
Union  sooner  by  sustaining  or  by  discarding  her  new  State 
Government  ? 

"  Some  twelve  thousand  voters  in  the  heretofore.slave  State 
of  Louisiana  have  sworn  allegiance  to  the  Union,  assumed  to 
be  the  rightful  political  power  of  the  State,  held  elections, 
organized  a  State  government,  adopted  a  free  State  constitu- 
tion, giving  the  benefit  of  public  schools  equally  to  black  and 
white,  and  empowering  the  Legislature  to  confer  the  elective 
franchise  upon  the  colored  man.  Their  Legislature  has 
already  voted  to  ratify  the  Constitutional  amendment  recently 
passed  by  Congress,  abolishing  slavery  throughout  the 
Nation.  These  twelve  thousand  persons  are  thus  fully  com- 
mitted to  the  Union,  and  to  perpetual  freedom  in  the  State — 
committed  to  the  very  beings  and  nearly  all  the  things  th(! 
Nation  wants — and  they  ask  the  Nation's  recognition  and 


IN   RICHMOND.  869 


tast  Pulilic  Speech.  The  Louisiana  Government.  Black  Men. 


its  assistance  to  make  good  their  committal.  Now,  if  we 
reject  and  spurn  them,  we  do  our  utmost  to  disorganize  and 
disperse  them.  We,  in  fact,  say  to  the  white  man,  '  You  are 
worthless,  or  worse;  we  will  neither  help  you  nor  be  helped 
by  you.'  To  the  blacks  we  say,  'This  cup  of  liberty  which 
your  old  masters  there  hold  to  your  lips  we  will  dash  from 
you,  and  leave  you  to  the  chances  of  gathering  the  spilled 
and  scattered  contents  in  some  vague  and  undefined  way 
when,  where,  and  how.'  If  this  course,  by  discouraging  and 
paralyzing  both  white  and  black,  has  any  tendency  to  bring 
Louisiana  into  proper  practical  relations  with  the  Union,  I 
have  so  far  been  unable  to  perceive  it.  If,  on  the  contrary, 
we  recognize  and  sustain  the  new  Government  of  Louisiana, 
the  converse  of  all  this  is  made  true. 

"  We  encourage  the  hearts  and  nerve  the  arms  of  the 
twelve  thousand  to  adhere  to  their  work,  and  argue  for  it,  and 
proselyte  for  it,  and  fight  for  it,  and  feed  it,  and  grow  it,  and 
ripen  it,  to  a  complete  success.  The  colored  man,  too,  in 
seeing  all  united  for  him,  is  inspired  with  vigilance,  and 
energy,  and  daring  to  the  same  end.  Grant  that  he  desires 
the  elective  franchise,  will  he  not  attain  it  sooner  by  saving 
the  already  advanced  steps  toward  it  than  by  running  back- 
ward over  them  ?  Concede  that  the  new  Government  of 
Louisiana  is  only  what  it  should  be,  as  the  egg  is  to  the  fowl, 
we  shall  sooner  have  the  fowl  by  hatching  the  egg,  than  by 
smashing  it.     [Laughter.] 

"Again,  if  we  reject  Louisiana,  we  also  reject  our  vote  in 
favor  of  the  proposed  amendment  to  the  National  Constitu- 
tion. To  meet  this  proposition,  it  has  been  argued  that  no 
more  than  three-fourths  of  those  States  which  have  not  at- 
tempted secession  are  necessary  to  validly  ratify  the  amend- 
ment I  do  not  commit  myself  against  this,  further  than  to 
say  that  such  a  ratification  would  be  questionable,  and  sure 
to  be  persistently  questioned,  while  a  ratification  by  three- 

24 


370  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Last  Public  Speech.  The  Louisiana  Government.  Proclamation. 

fourths  of  all  the  States  would  be  unquestioned  and  unques- 
tionable. 

"  I  repeat  the  question.  Can  Louisiana  be  brought  into 
proper  practical  relation  with  the  Union  sooner  by  sustaining 
or  by  discarding  her  new  State  Government  ?  What  has 
been  said  of  Louisiana  will  apply  severally  to  other  States ; 
yet  so  great  peculiarities  pertain  to  each  State,  and  such  im- 
portant and  sudden  changes  occur  in  the  same  State,  and 
withal  so  new  and  unprecedented  is  the  whole  case,  that  no 
exclusive  and  inflexible  plan  can  safely  be  prescribed.  As  to 
details  and  collaterals,  such  an  exclusive  and  inflexible  plan 
would  surely  become  a  new  entanglement.  Important  prin- 
ciples may  and  must  be  inflexible. 

"  In  the  present  situation,  as  the  phrase  goes,  it  may  be 
my  duty  to  make  some  new  announcement  to  the  people  of 
the  South.  I  am  considering,  and  shall  not  fail  to  act  when 
satisfied  that  action  will  be  proper." 

On  the  11th  of  April,  also, 'appeared  the  following  proclam- 
ation : 

"  Whereas,  By  my  proclamation  of  the  19th  and  27th  days 
of  April,  1861,  the  ports  *of  the  United  States  of  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Texas  were  declared  to  be  subject 
to  blockade,  but  whereas  the  said  blockade  has,  in  conse- 
quence of  actual  military  occupation  by  this  Government, 
since  then  been  conditionally  set  aside  or  released  in  respect 
to  the  ports  of  Norfolk  and  Alexandria,  in  the  State  of  Vir- 
ginia, Beaufort,  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  Port  Royal, 
in  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  Pensacola  and  Fernandina,  in 
tne  State  of  Florida,  and  New  Orleans,  in  the  State  of  Louis- 
iana; and  whereas,  by  the  4th  section  of  the  act  of  Congress 
approved  on  the  13th  of  July,  1861,  entitled  'an  act  further 
to  provide  for  the  collection  of  duties  on  imports,  and  for  other 


IN   RICHMOND.  371 


Proclamation  ck)siug  certain  Ports.  Proclamation  on  Maritime  Rights. 

purposes,'  the  President,  for  the  reasons  therein  set  forth,  is 
authorized  to  close  certain  ports  of  entry. 

"  Xow,  therefore,  be  it  known  that  I,  Abraham  Lincoln, 
President  of  the  United  States,  do  hereby  proclaim  that  the 
ports  of  Richmond,  Tappahannock,  Cherry  Stone,  Yorktovvn, 
and  Petersburg,  in  Virginia;  of  Camden,  Elizabeth  City, 
Edenton,  Plymouth,  Washington,  Newbern,  Ocracoke,  and 
Wilmington,  in  Xorth  Carolina;  of  Charleston,  Georgetown, 
and  Beaufort,  in  South  Carolina;  of  Sav^annah,  St.  Marys, 
Brunswick,  and  Darien,  in  Georgia;  of  Mobile,  in  Alabama; 
of  Pearl  river,  Shieldsboro',  Natchez,  and  Yicksburg,  in  Mis- 
sissippi ;  of  St.  Augustine,  Key  West,  St.  Marks,  Port  Leon 
St.  Johns,  Jacksonville,  and  Apalachicola,  in  Florida;  of 
Teche  and  Franklin,  in  Louisiana ;  of  Galveston,  La  Salle, 
Brazos  de  Santiago,  Point  Isabel,  and  Brownsville,  in  Texas, 
are  hereby  closed,  and  all  rights  of  importation,  warehousing, 
and  other  privileges  shall,  in  respect  to  the  ports  aforesaid, 
cease  until  they  shall  again  have  been  opened  by  order  of  the 
President ;  and  if,  while  said  ports  are  so  closed,  any  ship  or 
vessel  from  beyond  the  United  States,  or  having  on  board 
any  articles  subject  to  duties,  shall  attempt  to  enter  any  such 
port,  the  same,  together  with  its  tackle,  apparel,  furniture, 
and  cargo,  shall  be  forfeited  to  the  United  States. 

"  In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  City  of  Washington  this  eleventh  day  of  April, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-five,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of 
America  the  eighty-ninth. 

"Abraham  Lincoln. 

"William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

And  on  the  same  day  the  following  : 

"  Whereas,  for  some  time  past  vessels-of-war  of  the  United 


372  T-IFE    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Proclamation  on  Maritime  Rights.  Equality  claimed  with  all  Niitions. 

States  have  been  refused  ia  certain  foreign  ports  privileges 
and  immunities  to  which  they  were  entitled  by  treaty,  public 
law,  or  the  comity  of  nations,  at  the  same  time  that  vessels- 
of-war  of  the  country  wherein  the  said  privileges  and  immu- 
nities have  been  withheld  have  enjoyed  them  fully  and  unin- 
terruptedly in  ports  of  the  United  States,  which  condition  of 
things  has  not  always  been  forcibly  resisted  by  the  United 
States,  although,  on  the  other  hand,  they  have  not  at  any 
time  failed  to  protest  against  and  declare  their  dissatisfaction 
with  the  same.  In  the  view  of  the  United  States  no 
condition  any  longer  exists  which  can  be  claimed  to  justify 
the  denial  to  them  by  any  one  of  said  nations  of  cus- 
tomary naval  rights,  such  as  has  heretofore  been  so  unne- 
cessarily persisted  in — 

"  Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States,  do  hereby  make  known  that  if  after  a 
reasonable  time  shall  have  elapsed  for  intelligence  of  this 
proclamation  to  have  reached  any  foreign  country  in  whose 
ports  the  said  privileges  and  immunities  shall  have  been 
refused  as  aforesaid,  they  shall  continue  to  be  so  refused, 
then  and  thenceforth  the  same  privileges  and  immunities 
shall  be  refused  to  the  vessels-of-war  of  that  country  in  the 
ports  of  the  United  States ;  and  this  refusal  shall  continue 
until  war-vessels  of  the  United  States  shall  have  been  placed 
upon  an  entire  equality  in  the  foreign  ports  aforesaid  with 
vessels  of  other  countries.  The  United  States,  whatever 
claim  or  pretence  may  have  existed  heretofore,  are  now  at 
least  entitled  to  claim  and  concede  an  entire  and  friendly 
equality  of  rights  and  hospitalities  with  all  maritime 
nations. 

''  In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  city  of  Washington  this  eleventh  day  of 
April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 


IN   RICHMOXD.  873 


Supplementary  Proclamation.  Key  West.  Official  Bullotiu. 

and  sixty-five,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States 
the  eighty-ninth. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"  WiLLiAxM  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

And,  on  the  twelfth  April,  the  following  supplementary 
proclamation  : 

"  Whereas,  By  my  proclamation  of  this  date  the  port  of 
Key  West,  in  the  State  of  Florida,  was  inadvertently  in- 
cluded among  those  which  are  not  open  to  commerce  : 

"  Now,  therefore,  be  it  known  that  I,  Abraham  Lincoln, 
President  of  the  United  States,  do  hereby  declare  and  make 
known  that  the  said  port  of  Key  West  is  and  shall  remain 
open  to  foreign  and  domestic  commerce,  upon  the  same  con- 
ditions by  which  that  commerce  has  hitherto  been  governed. 

"  In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  City  of  Washington  this  eleventh  day  of 
April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  sixty-five,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  the  eighty-ninth. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"Wm.  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 

The  light  in  which  the  administration  regarded  the  position 
of  afi'airs  can  best  be  judged  from  the  following  official 
bulletin  from  the  War  Department,  bearing  date  April  thir- 
teenth, 1865: 

"  This  Department,  after  mature  consideration  and  consul- 
tation with  the  Lieutenant-General  upon  the  results  of  the 
recent  campaigns,  has  come  to  the  following  determination, 
which  will  be  carried  into  effect  by  appropriate  orders,  to  be 
immediately  issued  : 


374  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Official  Bnllctin.  Drafting  and  Recruiting  Stopped.  Expenses  Curtailed. 

"  First.  To  stop  all  drafting  and  recruiting  in  tLe  loyal 
States. 

"  Second.  To  curtail  purchases  for  arms,  ammunition, 
quartermaster's  and  commissary  supplies,  and  reduce  the 
expenses  of  the  military  establishment  and  its  several 
branches. 

"  Third.  To  reduce  the  number  of  general  and  staff  officers 
to  the  actual  necessities  of  the  service. 

"  Fourth.  To  remove  all  military  restrictions  upon  trade 
and  commerce,  so  far  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  public 
safety. 

"As  soon  as  these  measures  can  be  put  in  operation,  it 
will  be  made  known  by  public  orders. 

"Edwin  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War." 

The  Traitor  President,  who,  on  the  fifth  of  April,  had  issued 
a  proclamation  to  the  effect  that  he  should  hold  on  to  Vir- 
ginia— where  was  he  at  this  time  ? 


•  CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE   LAST   ACT. 

Interview  with  Mr.  Colfax — Cabinet  Meeting — Incident — Evening  Conversation — Possi- 
bility of  Assassination — Leaves  for  the  Theatre — In  the  Theatre — Precautions  for  tlie 
Murder — The  Pistol  Shot— Escape  of  the  Assassin— Death  of  the  President — Pledges 
Redeemed — Situation  of  the  Country — Effect  of  the  Murder — Obsequies  at  Washington 
»— Borne  Home — Grief  of  the  People — At  Rest. 

On  the  morning  of  Friday,  April  fourteenth,  1865,  after  an 
Interesting  conversation  with  his  eldest  son,  Robert,  a  captain 
on  General  Grant's  staff,  relative  to  the  surrender  of  Lee, 
with  the  details  of  which  the  son  was  familiar,  the  President, 
hearing  that  Schuyler  Colfax,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre- 


THE   LAST  ACT.  375 


CabiDet  Meeting  Held.  President's  Dream.  Interview  with  Mr.  Colfax. 


sentatives,  was  in  the  Executive  Mansion,  invited  the  latter 
to  a  chat  in  the  reception-room,  and  during  the  following 
hour  the  talk  turned  upon  his  future  policy  toward  the  rebel- 
lion— a  matter  which  he  was  about  to  submit  to  his  Cabinet. 

After  an  interview  with  John  P.  Hale,  then  recently 
appointed  Minister  to  Spain,  as  well  as  with  several  Senators 
and  Representatives,  a  Cabinet  meeting  was  held,  at  eleven 
o'clock.  General  Grant  being  present,  which  proved  to  be  one 
of  the  most  satisfactory  and  important  consultations  held 
since  his  first  inauguration.  The  future  policy  of  the  Ad- 
ministration was  harmoniously  and  unanimously  agreed  upon, 
and  upon  the  adjournment  of  the  meeting  the  Secretary  of 
War  remarked  that  the  Government  was  then  stronger  than 
at  any  period  since  the  commencement  of  the  rebellion. 

It  was  afterwards  remembered  that  at  this  meeting  the 
President  turned  to  General  Grant  and  asked  him  if  he  had 
heard  from  General  Sherman.  General  Grant  replied  that  he 
had  not,  but  was  in  hourly  expectation  of  receiving  dispatches 
from  him,  announcing  the  surrender  of  Johnston. 

"Well,"  said  the  President,  "you  will  hear  very  soon  now, 
and  the  news  will  be  important." 

"  Why  do  you  think  so  ?"  said  the  General. 

"Because,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "I  had  a  dream  last  night, 
and  ever  since  the  war  began  I  have  invariably  had  the  same 
dream  before  any  very  important  military  event  has  occurred." 
He  then  instanced  Bull  Run,  Antietam,  Gettysburg,  etc.,  and 
said  that  before  each  of  these  events  he  had  had  the  same 
dream,  and  turning  to  Secretary  Welles,  said  : 

"  It  is  in  your  line,  too,  Mr.  Welles.  The  dream  is  that  I 
saw  a  ship  sailing  very  rapidly,  and  I  am  sure  that  it  Dor- 
tends  some  important  national  event." 

In  the  afternoon,  a  long  and  pleasant  conversation  was  held 
with  eminent  citizens  from  Illinois. 

In  the  evening,  during  a  talk  with  Messrs.  Colfax  and 
Ashman — the  latter  of  whom  presided  at  the  Chicago  Con- 


376  LIFE    OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Possibility  of  Assassination.  Kindness  of  Heart.  Messrs.  Ashman  and  Cclfax. 

vention,  in  1860 — speaking  about  his  trip  to  Richmond,  when 
the  suggestion  was  made  that  there  was  much  uneasiness  at 
the  North  while  he  was  at  what  had  been  the  rebel  capital, 
for  fear  that  some  traitor  might  shoot  him,  Mr.  Lincoln 
portively  replied,  that  he  would  have  been  alarmed  himself, 
if  any  other  person  had  been  President  and  gone  there,  but 
that,  as  for  himself,  he  did  not  feel  in  any  danger  whatever. 

This  possibility  of  an  assassination  had  been  presented 
before  to  the  President's  mind,  but  it  had  not  occasioned  him 
a  moment's  uneasiness.  A  member  of  his  Cabinet  one  day 
said  to  him,  "  Mr.  Lincoln,  you  are  not  sufficiently  careful  of 
yourself.  There  are  bad  men  in  Washington.  Did  it  never 
occur  to  you  that  there  are  rebels  among  us  who  are  bad 
enough  to  attempt  your  life  ?"  The  President  stepped  to  a 
desk  and  drew  from  a  pigeon-hole  a  package  of  letters. ' 
"  There,"  said  he,  "  every  one  of  these  contains  a  threat  to 
assassinate  me.  I  might  be  nervous,  if  I  were  to  dwell  upon 
the  subject,  but  I  have  come  to  this  conclusion  :  there  are 
opportunities  to  kill  me  every  day  of  my  life,  if  there  are 
persons  disposed  to  do  it.  It  is  not  possible  to  avoid 
exposure  to  such  a  fate,  and  I  shall  not  trouble  myself 
about  it. " 

Upon  the  evening  alluded  to,  while  conversing  upon  a 
matter  of  business  with  Mr.  Ashman,  he  saw  that  the 
latter  was  surprised  at  a  remark  which  he  had  made,  when, 
prompted  by  his  well-known  desire  to  avoid  any  thing  offen- 
sive, he  immediately  said,  "You  did  not  understand  me. 
Ashman  :  I  did  not  mean  what  you  inferred,  and  I  will  take 
It  all  back,  and  apologize  for  it."  He  afterward  gave  Mr. 
A.  a  card,  admitting  himself  and  friend  for  a  further  conver- 
sation early  in  the  morning. 

Turning  to  Mr.  Colfax,  he  said,  "  You  are  going  with  Mrs. 
Lincoln  and  me  to  the  theatre,  I  hope."  The  President  and 
General  Grant  had  previously  accepted  an  invitation  to  bo 
present  that  evening  at  Ford's  Theatre,  but  the  General  had 


THE   LAST   ACT.  377 


Messrs.  AsLman  and  Colfiix.  Goes  to  the  Theatre.  The  Assassin's  PrecautionB. 

been  obliged  to  leave  for  the  Xorth.  Mr.  Lincoln  did  not 
like  to  entirely  disappoint  the  audience,  as  the  announcement 
had  been  publicly  made,  and  had  determined  to  fulfil  his 
acceptance. 

Mr.  Colfax,  however,  declining  on  account  of  other  engage- 
ments, Mr.  Lincoln  said  to  him,  "  Mr.  Sumner  has  the  gavel 
of  the  Confederate  Congress,  which  he  got  at  Richmond  to 
hand  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  But  I  insisted  then  that  he 
must  give  it  to  you  ;  and  you  tell  him  for  me  to  hand  it  over." 
Mr.  Ashman  alluded  to  the  gavel,  still  in  his  possession, 
which  he  had  used  at  Chicago ;  and  about  half  an  hour  after 
the  time  ihey  had  intended  to  leave  for  the  theatre,  the  Presi- 
dent and  Mrs.  Lincoln  rose  to  depart,  the  former  reluctant 
and  speaking  about  remaining  at  home  a  half  hour  longer. 

At  the  door  he  stopped  and  said,  "  Colfax,  do  not  forget 
to  tell  the  people  in  the  mining  regions,  as  you  pass  through 
them,  what  I  told  you  this  morning  about  the  development 
when  peace  comes,  and  I  will  telegraph  you  at  San  Fran- 
cisco." Having  shaken  hands  with  both  gentlemen  and 
bidden  them  a  pleasant  good-bye,  the  President  with  his 
party  left  for  the  theatre. 

The  box  occupied  by  them  was  on  the  second  tier  above 
the  stage,  at  the  right  of  the  audience,  the  entrance  to  it 
being  by  a  door  from  the  adjoining  gallery.  One,  who  had 
planned  Mr.  Lincoln's  assassination  with  extraordinary  pre- 
cautions against  any  failure,  having  effected  an  entrance  by 
deceiving  the  guard,  found  himself  in  a  dark  corridor,  of 
which  the  wall  made  an  acute  angle  with  the  door.  The 
assassin  had  previously  gouged  a  channel  from  the  plaster 
and  placed  near  by  a  stout  piece  of  board,  which  he  next 
inserted  between  the  wall  and  the  panel  of  the  door. 

Ingress  then  being  rendered  impossible,  he  next  turned 
toward  the  entrances  to  the  President's  box,  two  in  number, 
as  the  box  by  a  sliding  partition  could,  at  pleasure,  be  con- 
verted into  two.     The  door  at  the  bottom  of  the  passage  was 


378  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

The  Assassin's  Precautions.  The  Pistol  Shot.  The  Flight. 

open  ;  that  nearer  the  assassin  was  closed.  Both  had  spring- 
locks,  but  their  screws  had  been  carefully  loosened  so  as  to 
yield  to  a  slight  pressure,  if  necessary. 

Resort  was  had  to  the  hither  door,  in  which  a  small  hole 
had  been  bored,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  view  of  the 
interior  of  the  box,  the  door  first  described  having  first  been 
fastened,  and  the  discovery  made  that  the  occupants  had 
taken  seats  as  follows :  the  President  in  the  arm-chair 
nearest  the  audience,  Mrs.  Lincoln  next,  then,  after  a  con- 
siderable space,  a  Miss  Clara  Harris  in  the  corner  nearest 
the  stage,  and  a  Major  H.  R.  Rathbone  on  a  lounge  along 
the  further  wall. 

The  play  was,  "Our  American  Cousin."  While  all  were 
intent  upon  its  representation,  the  report  of  a  pistol  first  an- 
nounced the  presence  of  the  assassin,  who  uttered  the  word 
"  Freedom  !"  and  advanced  toward  the  front.  The  Major 
having  discerned  the  murderer  through  the  smoke,  and  grap- 
pled with  him,  the  latter  dropped  his  pistol  and  aimed  with 
a  knife  at  the  breast  of  his  antagonist,  who  caught  the  blow 
in  the  upper  part  of  his  left  arm,  but  was  unable  to  detain  the 
desperado,  though  he  immediately  seized  him  again.  The 
villain,  however,  leaped  some  twelve  feet  down  upon  the 
open  stage,  tangling  his  spur  in  the  draped  flag  below  the 
box  and  stumbling  in  his  fall. 

Recovering  himself  immediately,  he  flourished  his  dagger, 
shouted  "Sic  semper  fyrannis-''  and  "TAe  South  is  avenged," 
retreated  successfully  through  the  labyrinth  of  the  theatre — 
perfectly  familiar  to  him — to  his  horse  in  waiting  below. 
Between  the  deed  of  blood  and  the  escape  there  was  not  the 
lapse  of  a  minute.  The  hour  was  about  half-past  ten.  There 
was  but  one  pursuer,  and  he  from  the  audience,  but  he  was 
outstripped. 

The  meaning  of  the  pistol-shot  was  soon  ascertained. 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  been  shot  in  the  back  of  the  head,  behind 
the  left  ear,  the  ball  traversing  an  oblique  line  to  the  right 


THE  LAST  ACT.  379 


Death  of  the  President.  Grief  of  his  Family.  Reflections. 

ear.  He  was  rendered  instantly  unconscious,  and  never  knew 
friends  or  pain  again.  Having  been  conveyed  as  soon  as 
possible  to  a  house  opposite  the  theatre,  he  expired  there  the 
next  morning,  April  fifteenth,  1865,  at  twenty-two  minutes 
past  seven  o'clock,  attended  by  the  principal  members  of  his 
Cabinet  and  other  friends,  from  all  of  whom  the  heart- 
rending spectacle  drew  copious  tears  of  sorrow.  Mrs.  Lin- 
coln and  her  son  Robert  were  in  an  adjoining  apartment — 
the  former  bowed  down  with  anguish,  the  latter  strong 
enough  to  sustain  and  console  her.  A  disconsolate  widow 
and  two  sons  now  constituted  the  entire  family.  Soon  after 
nine  o'clock,  the  body  tvas  removed  to  the  White  House 
under  military  escort. 

Thus  ended  the  earthly  career  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  six- 
teenth President  of  the  United  States,  on  the  threshold  of 
his  fifty-seventh  year  and  second  Presidential  term. 

"Sic  semper  tyrannis!"  And  this  the  justification  for  the 
murder  of  a  ruler  who  had 


-borne  his  faculties  so  meek,  had  been 


So  clear  in  his  gre.it  oflRce,  that  his  virtues 
Will  plead  like  angels,  trumpot-tongned,  against 
The  deep  damnation  of  his  taking-off." 

"  The  South  avenged  1"  And  by  the  cold-blooded  murder 
of  the  best  friend  that  repentant  rebels  ever  had — of  one  who 
had  long  withstood  the  pressing  appeals  of  his  warmest  per- 
sonal and  political  friends  for  less  lenity  and  more  rigor  in 
dealing  with  traitors. 

It  was  written  in  the  decrees  of  the  Immutable  that  ho 
should  fall  by  the  bullet — not,  indeed,  on  the  battle*field, 
whose  sad  suggestings  he  had  so  often,  and  so  tenderly, 
lovingly  heeded — but  in  the  midst  of  his  family,  while  seek- 
ing relief  from  the  cares  of  state — and  by  a  murderer's  hand  I 
— the  first  President  to  meet  such  a  fnte — thenceforth  our 
martyr-chief ! 

But  sorrow  was  tempered  with  mercy.     He  did  not  fall 


380  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN". 

Sorrow  tempered  with  Mercy.        Inaugural  Redeemed.  Flag  over  Fort  Sumter. 


until  a  beuignaat  Providence  had  permitted  him  to  enjoy  a 
foretaste,  at  least,  of  the  blessings  which  he  had  been  instru- 
mental in  conferring  upon  the  land  he  loved  so  well. 

The  pledges  of  his  first  Inaugural  Address  had  been  amply 
•^deemed — those  pledges  which  so  many  declared  impossible 
of  fulfilment,  which  not  a  few  mocked  as  beyond  human 
power  to  accomplish.  The  power  confided  to  him  bad  been 
successfully  used  "to  hold,  occupy,  and  possess  the  property 
and  places  belonging  to  the  Government."  No  United  States 
fort  at  the  time  of  his  fall  flaunted  treason  in  the  eyes  of  the 
land.  The  day  of  his  murder  the  old  flag  had  been  flung  to 
the  breeze  from  Sumter  with  ceremonies  befitting  the  joyous  oc- 
casion, by  the  very  hands  that  four  years  before  had  been  com- 
pelled to  lower  it  to  arrogant  traitors ;  and  friends  of  freedom 
for  man,  irrespective  of  color  or  race,  walked  the  streets  of 
Charleston — a  city  of  desolation,  a  skeleton  of  its  former  self 
■ — jubilant  that,  since  God  so  willed  it,  in  His  own  good 
time.  Freedom  was  National  and  Slavery  but  a  thing  of  the 
past. 

When  he  fell,  the  Nation,  brought  by  the  stern  necessities 
of  direful  war  to  the  discharge  of  duties  befitting  a  better  man- 
hood, passing  by  all  projects  for  an  emancipation  of  slaves, 
which  should  be  merely  gradual,  not  content  even  that  such 
emancipation  had  been  proclaimed  as  a  measure  of  military 
necessity,  had  spoken  in  favor  of  such  an  amendment  of  the 
Constitution  as  should  forever  prohibit  any  claim  of  property 
in  man.  Though  the  final  consummation  of  that  great 
measure  had  not  been  reached  when  our  President  was  re- 
moved, it  was  given  him  to  feel  assured  that  the  end  was  not 
distant,  was  even  then  close  at  hand. 

When  he  fell,  that  body  of  traitors  which  had  assumed  to 
be  a  Government  had  fled,  one  scarcely  knew  whither, 
with  whatever  of  ill-gotten  gains  their  greedy  hands  could 
grasp — their  main  army  captive,  the  residue  of  their  military 
force  on  the  point  of  surrendering.     From  what  had  been  their 


THE   LAST   ACT.  381 


The  Nation's  Sorrow.  Ilousea  Draped.  Jljnuto  Guns  Fired. 


capital,  in  the  mansiou  appropriated  to  the  special  use  of 
the  chiefest  among  the  conspirators,  he  had  been  permitted  to 
send  words  of  greeting  to  the  nation. 

When  he  fell,  treason  throughout  the  land  lay  gasping, 
dying. 

It  needed  not  that  dismal,  dreary,  mid-April  day  to  in 
tensify  the  sorrow.  As  on  the  wings  of  lightning  the  news 
sped  through  the  laud  —  "the  President  is  Shot" — "is 
dying" — "  is  dead" — men  knew  scarcely  how  to  credit  the 
tale.  When  the  fearful  certainty  came  home  to  each,  strong 
men  bowed  themselves  and  wept — maid  and  matron  joined  in 
the  plaint.  With  no  extraneous  prompting,  with  no  impulse 
save  that  of  the  heart  alone,  the  common  grief  took  on  a  com- 
mon garb.  Houses  were  draped — the  flag  of  our  country 
hung  pensive  at  half-mast — portraitures  of  the  loved  dead 
were  found  on  all. 

And  dreary  as  was  the  day  when  first  the  tidings  swept 
through  the  country,  patriot  hearts  were  drearier  still.  It 
was  past  analysis.  It  was  as  if  chaos  and  dread  night  had 
come  again. 

Meanwhile  the  honored  dead  lay  in  state  in  the  country's 
capitol. 

On  that  dreamy,  hazy  nineteenth  of  April — suggesting,  were 
it  not  for  the  early  green  leaves,  the  fresh  springing  grass,  the 
glad  spring  caroling  of  birds,  "that  sweet  autumnal  summer 
which  the  Indian  loved  so  well" — on  that  day  when  sleep 
wooed  one  even  in  the  early  morn,  his  obsequies  were  cele- 
brated in  the  country's  metropolis. 

And  throughout  the  land,  minute  guns  were  fired,  bella 
tolled,  business  suspended,  and  the  thoughtful  betook  them- 
selves to  prayer,  if  so  be  that  what  verily  seemed  a  curse 
might  pass  from  us. 

Thence  the  funeral  cortege  moved  to  the  final  resting-place 
— the  remains  of  a  darling  son,  earlier  called,  accompanying 
those  of  the  father — by  the  route  the  President  had  taken 


382  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LIISrCOLN. 

The  Fuueral  Cortege.  Death  of  the  Assassin.  Burial  at  Springfield. 

when  first  he  had  been  summoned  to  the  chair  of  State. 
Before  half  of  the  mournful  task  was  done,  came  tidings  that 
the  assassin  had  been  sent  to  his  final  account  bj  the  aven- 
ger's hand,  gurgling  out,  as  his  worthless  life  ebbed  away, 
"  useless  !  useless  !" 

As  the  sad  procession  wended  its  way,  where  hundreds  had 
gathered  in  '61,  impelled  by  mere  curiosity  or  by  partisan 
sympathy,  thousands  gathered,  four  years  later,  through 
affection,  through  reverence,  through  deep,  abiding  sorrow. 

Flowers  beautified  the  lifeless  remains — dirges  were  sung 
— the  people's  great  heart  broke  out  into  sobs  and  sighing. 

And  so,  home  to  the  prairie  they  bore  him  whom,  when 
first  he  was  called,  the  Nation  knew  not — whom,  mid  the 
storms  and  ragings  of  those  years  of  civil  war,  they  had 
learned,  had  loved,  to  call  father  and  friend. 

In  the  Oak  Ridge  Cemetery,  in  his  own  Springfield,  on  the 
fourth  of  May,  1865,  they  laid  him  to  rest,  at  the  foot  of  a 
knoll,  in  the  most  beautiful  part  of  the  ground,  over  which 
forest  trees — rare  denizens  of  the  prairie — look  lovingly. 

There  all  that  is  mortal  of  Abraham  Lincoln  reposes. 

"  The  immortal  ?''     Hail,  send  farewell  I 


-■4  ■*-♦  ■•->■- 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 


THE    MAN. 


Reasons  for  His  Re-election — What  was  Accomplished — Leaning  on  the  People — State 
Papers — His  Tenacity  of  Purpose — Washington  and  Lincoln — As  a  Man — Favorite  Poem 
— Autobiography— His  Modesty— A  Christian— Conclusion. 

What  shall  be  said,  in  summing  up,  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
as  a  statesman  and  a  man  ?  That  from  such  humble  begin- 
nings, in  circumstances  so  adverse,  he  rose  to  be  the  Chief 
Magistrate  of  one  of  the  leading  countries  of  the  world,  would 


THE   MAN.  383 


The  President  aa  a  Man.  '\^^ly  Re-elected. 

were  it  in  any  other  country,  be  evidence  of  ability  of  the 
very  highest  order. 

Here,  however,  so  many  from  similar  surroundings  have 
achieved  similar  results  that  this  fact  of  itself  does  not  neces- 
sarily unfold  the  man  clearly  and  fully  to  us.  He  might  have 
been  put  forward  for  that  high  station  as  a  skillful  and  ac- 
complished politician,  from  whose  elevation  hosts  of  partisans 
counted  upon  their  own  personal  advancement  and  profit. 
Or  he  might  have  been  a  successful  general ;  or  one  possess- 
ing merely  negative  qualities,  with  no  salient  points,  all 
objectionable  angularities  rounded  off  till  that  desirable  availa- 
bility, which  has  at  times  been  laid  hold  of  for  the  Presidency 
had  been  reached  ;  or,  yet  again,  one  who  had  for  a  long  time 
been  in  the  front  ranks  of  an  old  and  triumphant  party,  and, 
therefore,  as  such  matters  have  been  managed  with  us,  ad- 
mitted to  have  strong  claims  upon  such  party ;  or,  lastly,  one 
who,  having  for  many  years  schemed  and  plotted  and  labored, 
in  season  and  out  of  season,  for  the  nomination,  at  last 
achieved  it. 

For  such  Presidents  have  been  furnished  us.  But  he  was 
neither.  And  yet  the  highest  point  to  which  an  American 
may  aspire  he  reached.  Clearly,  then,  there  must  have  been 
something  of  strength  and  of  worth  in  the  man. 

lie  was  reelected,  the  first  President  since  Jackson  to 
whom  that  honor  had  been  accorded.  And  thirty-two  years 
had  passed — eight  Presidential  terms — since  Jackson's  re- 
election. He  was,  moreover,  reelected  by  a  largely  increased 
vote. 

The  years  covered  by  his  administration  were  the  stormiest 
in  American  history,  "  piled  high,"  as  he  himself  said,  "  with 
difficulties."  Xo  President  was  ever  more  severely  attacked, 
more  unsparingly  denounced  than  he.  Xone  more  belittled 
than  he.  And  yet  he  was  triumphantly  reelected.  Why  ? 
For  the  same  reason  that  first  brought  him  before  the  country. 

Primarily  and  mainly  because  the  mass  of  the  people  had 


384  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Devotion  to  Principle.  As  a  Statesman.  Leaniug  ou  tlie  Peuple, 

unbounded  confidence  in  his  honesty  and  devotion  to  princi- 
ple. Though  these  qualities,  it  is  pleasant  to  say,  have  been 
by  no  means  rare  in  our  Presidents,  yet  Abraham  Lincoln 
seemed  so  to  speak,  so  steeped  and  saturated  in  them  that  a 
hold  was  thereby  obtained  upon  the  common  mind,  the  like 
of  which  no  other  President  since  Washington  had  secured. 
The  bitterest  opponent  of  his  policy  was  constrained,  if 
candid,  to  admit,  if  not  the  existence  of  these  qualities,  at 
least  the  prevailing  popular  belief  in  their  existence. 

What  shall  be  said  of  him  as  a  statesman  ? 

That  he  found  the  fabric  of  our  National  Government  rock- 
ing from  turret  to  foundation  stone — that  he  left  it,  after  four 
years  of  strife  such  as,  happily,  the  world  rarely  witnesses, 
firmly  fixed,  and  sure ;  this  should  serve  in  some  sort,  as 
an  answer. 

But  might  not  this  be  owing,  or  principally  so,  to  the 
ability  of  the  counsellors  whom  he  gathered  about  him  ? 
Beyond  a  doubt  the  meed  of  praise  is  to  be  shared.  Yet  we 
should  remember  that  few  Presidents  have  so  uniformly 
acted  of  and  for  themselves  in  matters  of  state  policy,  as  did 
Mr.  Lincoln.  Upon  many  questions  the  opinions  of  his 
Cabinet  were  sought — a  Cabinet  representing  the  various 
shades  of  thought,  the  various  stages  of  progress,  through 
which  the  people,  of  whom  they  were  the  exponents,  were 
passing  from  year  to  year — after  obtaining  which,  he  would 
act.  But,  in  most  instances,  perhaps,  he  struck  out  for  him- 
self, after  careful,  conscientious  reflection,  launching  his  policy 
upon  unknown  seas,  quietly  assured  that  truth  was  with 
him  and  that  he  could  not  be  mistaken.     Nor  was  he  often. 

Having  to  feel  his  way  along,  for  the  most  part — groping 
in  the  dark — he  could  not  push  on  so  fast  and  far  as  to  leave 
the  people  out  of  breath  or  staring  far  in  his  rear.  Still,  it 
must  not  be  understood  that  he  never  acted  against  what  was 
plainly  the  popular  will.  The  man  was  not  of  that  mould. 
Unquestionably  in  his  dealings  with  the  two  leading  Euro 


THE    MAN".  385 


Ml'.  Lincoln's  Self-reliance.  Reliance  on  the  People.  State  Papers. 

pean  powers  he  ofteu  acted  in  direct  opposition  to  the 
popular  wish.  Nothing  would  have  been  easier  than  for  him 
to  have  brought  a  foreign  war  upon  the  country  ;  and  in  such 
action,  for  a  time  at  least,  he  would  have  been  sustained  by 
the  mass  of  the  people.  So,  too,  as  to  vindictive  measures 
towards  the  rebels.  By  adopting  these  he  would,  oftentimes, 
have  been  in  harmony  with  the  general  wish  for  vengeance 
and  retaliation.  In  both  these  instances — to  name  no  others 
— he  chose  to  act  counter  to  the  current  sentiment.  More 
politic,  with  a  more  piercing  outlook  than  the  mass,  he  saw 
the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  in  the  one  case  chose  to 
overlook  what  was,  to  his  mind,  grossly  wrong,  and  in  the 
other,  to  stand  up  for  the  general  interests  of  humanity 
through  all  time  rather  than  to  cater  to  the  desire  of  the 
hour,  natural  and,  perhaps,  pardonable  though  it  was. 

What  is  meant  is  this — that,  in  the  complications  in  which 
the  country  was  involved,  be  invariably  acted,  where  expedi- 
ency simply  and  not  principle  was  concerned,  so  as  to  feel 
sure  that  the  body  of  the  people  were  with  him.  If  failure 
were  to  result,  he  would  have  them  feel  that  the  responsibility 
for  it  rested  as  much  upon  them  as  upon  him.  He  earnestly 
endeavored  to  point  out  w^hat  he  judged  the  better  way  and 
to  bring  the  people  to  his  conviction  ;  but,  if  they  relucted,  he 
waited  till  they  should  have  advanced  where,  or  nearly  where, 
be  was.  This  was  generally  felt,  and  it  added  largely  to  the 
confidence  reposed  in  him.  By  means  of  it,  a  general  acqui- 
escence was  procured  in  many  measures  earlier  than  could 
have  been  gained  by  any  other  course.  We  Americans  aie  a 
peculiar  people  in  some  respects.  We  dislike  to  be  led  by 
any  man.  Nay,  we  stoutly  deny  that  we  are.  We  are  not — 
when  we  see  the  leading  strings. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  state  papers  in  their  structure  and  composi- 
tion were  not  always  what  a  critical  scholar  would  have 
desired.  Some  would  say  they  were  presented  quite  too 
often  in  undress.  The  people  are  not  profound  critics.  They 
25 


386  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN, 


Mr.  Lincoln's  State  Papers.  His  Tenacity  of  Purpoj 

could  comprehend  every  word.     They  felt  that  they  were  ad- 
dressed as  fellow-citizens.     The  ordinarily  formal  and  stilted 
official  documents  came  from  his  plain  pen  a  talk  to  them  by 
the  fireside.     He  said,  moreover,  exactly  what  he  meant  and 
as  he  meant,  in  his  own  clear  cogent  way,  void  of  verbiage, 
omely  often  but  always  the  outgrowth  of  a  profound  intelli- 
gent conviction.     And,  generally,  he  struck  home.     His  were 
the  words  to  which  "the  common  pulse  of  man  keeps  time." 
How  studded  are   his  papers  with    lucid  illustration;  how 
transparently  honest  and  caudid,  like  the  man,  their  author  ! 
His  tenacity  of  purpose  was  marked.     Signing  that  im- 
mortal   proclamation,   which   made    him    the    Liberator    of 
America,  on  the  afternoon  of  January  1st,  1863,  after  hours 
of  New  Year's  hand-shaking,  he  said  to  friends  that  night— 
"The  signature  looks  a  little   tremulous,  for  my  hand  was 
tired,  but  my  resolution  was  firm.     I  told  them  in  September, 
if  they  did  not  return  to  their  allegiance  and  cease  murdering 
our  soldiers,  I  would  strike  at  this  pillar  of  their  strength. 
And  now  the  promise  shall  be  kept ;  and  not  one  word  of  it 
will  I  ever  recall."     In  all  the  varying  scenes  through  which 
as  our  leader  he  passed,  avoiding  the  extremes  of  sudden 
exultation  or  deep  depression,  calm  and  quiet,  and  resolute 
and  determined,  he  kept  on  his  course,  with  duty  as  his 
guiding  star,  an  unwarped  conscience  his  prompter.     Feeling 
always  that  he  bore  his  life  in  his  hands,  in  the  perilous  posi- 
tion in  which  he  was  placed,  as  well  as  he  who  went  forth  to 
do  duty  in  the   battle-field,   he   faltered  not,  swerved  not, 
compromised  not,  retracted  not,  apologized  not,  but  pursued 
his  way  with  an  inflexibility  as  rare  as  it  is  grand  and  in- 
spiring.   Others  might  doubt — not  he.    He  saw  the  end  toward 
which  the  nation  and  himself  must  strive.     That  was  ever 
present  to  him,  and  toward  that  he  ever  worked.     His  mission 
as  President  was,  as  he  so  often  and  so  pointedly  stated,  to 
save  the  Union.     And  he  saved  it.     There  may  be  those  who 
will  contend  that  such  a  result  might  have  been  reached  by 


\ 


THE   MAN.  387 


Father  of  bis  Cuimtry.  rcrsoiml  Characteristics.  Favorite  Poom. 

other  means  than  those  he  was  impelled  to  employ.  That  is 
theory.  He  reduced  his  to  practice.  For  himself,  he  could 
work  only  in  his  own  harness ;  and  patiently,  persistently, 
painfully  he  worked  on  till  the  goal  was  reached. 

Well  has  Washington  been  styled  the  Father  of  his  Country. 
Yet  this  arose  from  veneration  rather  than  from  love ;  for 
the  most  felt  such  an  impassable  gulf  between  themselves 
and  the  patriot-hero,  that  to  them  he  appeared  of  quite 
another  order  of  beings  than  themselves. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  both  Saviour  and  Father;  for  he 
preserved  whatever  was  most  valuable  in  the  old  and  created 
a  new  order  of  things  possessing  an  inherent  dignity  and 
importance  which  the  old  never  had.  And  such  titles  the 
people  bestow  upon  him  through  love. 

The  characteristics  of  the  man  stood  prominently  out  in 
the  statesman.  He  had  not  one  garb  as  an  oEQcial  and 
another  as  a  citizen.  No  change  marked  his  transit  from  the 
chat  of  the  drawing-room  to  the  consultation  of  cabinet. 
What  he  was  in  the  one  situation  he  was  in  the  other.  His 
peculiar  humor  was  not,  as  those  who  least  knew  him  judged, 
his  habitual  disposition.  More  of  melancholy  and  sadness 
centred  in  him  than  most  were  aware.  His  favorite  poem — 
given  below  for  the  sufficient  reason  that  it  was  his  favorite 
— attests  the  vein  of  pensiveness  which  was  in  him.  "  There 
is  one  poem,"  he  remarked  in  conversation,  "that  is  almost 
continually  present  with  me  :  it  comes  in  my  mind  whenever 
I  have  relief  from  thought  and  care." 

Oh,  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  prona? 
Like  a  swift,  fleeting  meteor,  a  fast-flying  cloud, 
A  flash  of  the  lightning,  a  break  of  the  wave, 
Man  passeth  from  life  to  his  rest  in  the  grave. 

The  leaves  of  the  oak  and  the  willow  shall  fade, 
Be  scattered  around  and  together  be  laid  ; 
And  the  young  and  the  old,  and  the  low  and  the  high, 
Shall  moulder  to  dust  and  together  shall  lie. 


388  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LIXCOLN. 


IIU  Favorite  Poom.  His  Favorite  Poem, 

The  infant  a  mother  attended  and  loved  ; 
The  mother  that  infant's  afifection  who  proved  ; 
The  hushand  that  mother  and  infant  who  blessed, 
Each,  all,  are  away  to  their  dwellings  of  Rest. 

Th«  maid  on  whose  cheek,  on  whose  brow,  in  whose  eye, 
Shone  beauty  and  pleasure— her  triumphs  are  by  ; 
And  the  memory  of  those  who  loved  her  and  praised, 
Are  alike  from  the  minds  of  the  living  erased. 

The  hand  of  the  king  that  the  sceptre  hath  borne  ; 
The  brow  of  the  priest  that  the  mitre  hath  worn  ; 
The  eye  of  the  sage  and  the  heart  of  the  brave. 
Are  hidden  and  lost  in  the  depth  of  the  grave. 

The  peasant  whose  lot  was  to  sow  and  to  reap  ; 
The  herdsman,  who  climbed  with  his  goats  up  the  steep ; 
The  beggar,  who  wandered  in  search  of  his  bread. 
Have  faded  away  like  the  grass  that  we  tread. 

The  saint  who  enjoyed  the  communion  of  heaven. 
The  sinner  who  dared  to  remain  unforgiven. 
The  wise  and  the  foolish,  the  guilty  and  just. 
Have  quietly  mingled  their  bones  in  the  dust. 

So  the  multitude  goes,  like  the  flowers  or  the  weed 
That  withers  away  to  let  others  succeed ; 
So  the  multitude  comes,  even  those  we  behold, 
To  repeat  every  tale  that  has  often  been  told. 

For  we  are  the  same  our  fathers  have  been  ; 
We  see  the  same  sights  our  fathers  have  seen — 
We  drink  the  same  stream  and  view  the  same  sun — 
And  run  the  same  course  our  fathers  have  run. 

The  thoughts  we  are  thinking  our  fathers  would  think  ; 
From  the  death  we  are  shrinking  our  fathers  would  shrink. 
To  the  life  we  are  clinging  they  also  would  cling  ; 
But  it  speeds  for  us  all,  like  a  bird  on  the  wing. 

Tney  loved,  but  the  story  we  cannot  unfold  ; 
They  scorned,  but  the  heart  of  the  haughty  is  cold  ; 
They  grieved,  but  no  wail  from  their  slumber  will  come  ; 
They  joyed,  but  the  tongue  of  their  gladness  is  dumb. 


THE   MAN,  389 


Hi?  Fnvdi-ite  Poem.  liocon)  of  his  Life.  Always  a  Lenrner. 

Tliey  died,  aye  !   they  died  ;  and  we  things  that  are  now, 

Who  walk  on  the  tuvf  tliat  lies  over  their  brow, 

Who  make  in  their  dwelling  a  transient  abode, 

Meet  the  things  that  they  met  on  their  pilgrimage  road. 

Yea  I  hope  and  despondency,  pleasure  and  pain, 
We  mingle  together  in  snn.shine  and  rain  ; 
And  the  smile  and  the  tear,  the  song  and  the  dirge, 
Still  follow  each  other,  like  surge  upon  surge. 

'Tis  the  wink  of  an  eye,  'tis  the  draught  of  a  breath  ; 
From  the  blossom  of  health  to  the  paleness  of  death, 
From  the  gilded  saloon  to  the  bier  and  the  shroud — 
Oh  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud  ? 

No  one  was  more  modest  than  he.  Look  at  the  record  of 
his  life  as  furnished  by  himself,  in  1858,  for  Lanman'a 
Dictionary  of  Congress : 

"Born  February  12,  1809,  in  Hardin  county,  Kentucky. 
"  Education  Defective. 
"  Profession  a  lawyer. 

"  Have  been  a  captain  of  volunteers  in  the  Black  Hawk  war. 
"  Postmaster  at  a  very  small  office. 
"  Four  times  a  member  of  the  Illinois  Legislature. 
"  And  was  a  member  of  the  lower  House  of  Congress. 
"Yours,  etc.,  A.  Lincoln." 

"With  no  self-conceit,  a  pupil  in  the  school  of  events,  he 
was  never  ashamed  to  confess  himself  a  learner,  and  as  such 
he  grew  and  ripened.  E([uable  in  his  temperament,  never 
wrathful  or  passionate,  none  need  have  been  his  enemy,  un- 
less such  an  one  were  intended  for  an  enemy  of  the  human 
race.  Mild  and  forgiving,  he  never  allowed  the  unmerited 
abuse  which  was  heaped  upon  him  to  affect  in  the  least  his 
intercourse  or  dealings  with  its  authors.  His  very  failings 
leaned  to  mercy's  side.  There  is  scarcely  a  hamlet  in  the 
loyal  States  that  does  not  c(mtain  some  witness  of  his  clem- 
ency and  lenity.     One  of  the  most  touching  incidents  cou- 


390  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Touching  Incident.  An  Avowed  Christian.  His  Reverential  Spirit. 

nected  with  his  obsequies  at  Washington  was  the  placing  on 
his  coffin  of  a  wreath  of  flowers,  sent  from  Boston  by  the 
sister  of  a  young  man  whom  he  had  pardoned  when  sentenced 
to  death  for  some  military  offence. 

Honored  as  a  private  citizen,  happy  in  his  domestic  rela- 
tions, successful  as  a  statesman,  he  was,  moreover,  an  avowed 
Christian.  He  often  said  that  his  reliance  in  the  gloomiest 
hours  was  on  his  God,  to  whom  he  appealed  in  prayer,  al- 
though he  had  never  become  a  professor  of  religion.  To  a 
clergyman  who  asked  him  if  he  loved  his  Saviour,  he  replied  : 

"  When  I  was  first  inaugurated  I  did  not  love  him  ;  when 
God  took  my  son  I  was  greatly  impressed,  but  still  I  did  not 
love  him ;  but  when  I  stood  upon  the  battle-field  of  Gettys- 
burg I  gave  my  heart  to  Christ,  and  I  can  now  say  I  do  love 
the  Saviour." 

Attention  has  already  been  called  to  the  reverential  spirit 
which  pervades  his  official  papers ;  and  this  was  the  index  of 
the  man.  Leaving  home,  he  invoked  the  prayers  of  his 
townsmen  and  friends  ;  during  the  excitements  of  his  Wash- 
ington life,  he  leaned  upon  a  more  than  human  arm  ;  against 
his  pure  moral  character  not  even  his  bitterest  enemy  could 
truthfully  utter  a  word. 

Such-  -imperfectly  sketched,  and  at  best  but  in  rude  out- 
line— was  Abraham  Lincoln.  The  manner  of  his  death  in- 
vests his  name  with  a  tragic  interest.  This  will  be  but 
temporary.  But  the  more  the  man  as  he  was  is  known,  the 
more  completely  an  insight  is  obtained  into  his  true  character, 
the  more  his  private  and  public  life  is  studied,  the  more  care- 
fully his  acts  are  weighed,  the  higher  will  he  rise  in  the 
estimation  of  all  whose  esteem  is  desirable.  Coming  years 
vvill  detract  nought  from  him.  He  has  passed  into  history. 
There  no  lover  of  honesty  and  integrity,  no  admirer  of 
firmness  and  resolution,  no  sympathizer  with  conscientious 
conviction,   no   friend   of   man   need   fear  to   leave — 

Abbaham  Lincoln, 


APPENDIX.  39 1 


Speech  in  Congress.  Xho  Mexican  War. 


APPENDIX. 


MR.  LINCOLN'S  SPEECHES  IN  CONGRESS  AND  ELSEWHERE, 
PROCLAMATIONS,  LETTERS,  ETC.,  NOT  INCLUDED  IN  THE 
BODY  OF  THE  WORK. 

SPEECH  ON   THE   MEXICAN   WAR. 

{In  Committee  of  the  Whole  House,  January  12,  1848.) 

Mr.  Lincoln  addressed  the  Committee  as  follows  : 
"  Mr.  Chairman  : — Some,  if  not  all,  of  the  gentlemen  on 
the  other  side  of  the  House,  who  have  addressed  the  Com- 
mittee within  the  last  two  days,  have  spoken  rather  com- 
plainingly,  if  I  have  rightly  understood  them,  of  the  vote 
^iven  a  week  or  ten  days  ago,  declaring  that  the  war  with 
Mexico  was  unnecessarily  and  unconstitutionally  commenced 
by  the  President.  I  admit  that  such  a  vote  should  not  be 
given  in  mere  party  wantonness,  and  that  the  one  given  is 
justly  censurable,  if  it  have  no  other  or  better  foundation. 
I  am  one  of  those  who  joined  in  that  vote ;  and  did  so  under 
my  best  impression  of  the  truth  of  the  case.  How  I  got  this 
impi-ession,  and  how  it  may  possibly  be  removed,  I  will  now 
try  to  show.  When  the  war  began,  it  was  my  opinion  tha 
all  those  who,  because  of  knowing  too  little,  or  because  of 
knowing  too  much,  could  not  conscientiously  approve  the 
conduct  of  the  President  (in  the  beginning  of  it),  should, 
nevertheless,  as  good  citizens  and  patriots,  remain  silent  on 
that  point,  at  least  till  the  war  should  be  ended.  Some  lead- 
ing Democrats,  including  ex-President  Van  Buren,  have  taken 
this  same  view,  as  I  understand  them  ;  and  I  adhered  to  it, 


392  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Speech  in  Congress,  Jan.  12, 1848.  On  the  Mexican  War. 

and  acted  upon  it,  until  since  I  took  my  seat  here  ;  and  I 
think  I  should  still  adhere  to  it,  were  it  not  that  the  Presi- 
dent and  his  friends  will  not  allow  it  to  be  so.  Besides,  the 
continual  effort  of  the  President  to  argue  every  silent  vote 
given  for  supplies  into  an  indorsement  of  the  justice  and 
wisdom  of  his  conduct;  besides  that  singularly  candid  para- 
graph in  his  late  message,  in  which  he  tells  us  that  Congress, 
with  great  unanimity  (only  two  in  the  Senate  and  fourteen  in 
the  House  dissenting)  had  declared  that  '  by  the  act  of  the 
Republic  of  Mexico  a  state  of  war  exists  between  that  Govern- 
ment and  the  United  States ;'  when  the  same  journals  that 
informed  him  of  this,  also  informed  him  that,  when  that 
declaration  stood  disconnected  from  the  question  of  supplies, 
sixty-seven  in  the  House,  and  not  fourteen,  merely,  voted 
against  it ;  besides  this  open  attempt  to  prove  by  telling  the 
truth,  what  he  could  not  prove  by  telling  the  whole  truth, 
demanding  of  all  who  will  not  submit  to  be  misrepresented, 
in  justice  to  themselves,  to  speak  out ;  besides  all  this,  one 
of  my  colleagues  [Mr.  Richardson],  at  a  very  early  day  in  the 
session,  brought  in  a  set  of  resolutions,  expressly  indorsing 
the  original  justice  of  the  war  on  the  part  of  the  President. 
Upon  these  resolutions,  when  they  shall  be  put  on  their  pas- 
sage, I  shall  be  compelled  to  vote  ;  so  that  I  can  not  be  silent 
if  I  would.  Seeing  this,  I  went  about  preparing  myself  to 
give  the  vote  understandingly,  when  it  should  come.  I  care- 
fully examined  the  President's  messages,  to  ascertain  what  he 
himself  had  said  and  proved  upon  the  point.  The  result  of 
this  examination  was  to  make  the  impression,  that,  taking  for 
true  all  the  President  states  as  facts,  he  falls  far  short  of 
proving  his  justification  ;  and  that  the  President  would  have 
gone  further  with  his  proof,  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  small 
matter  that  the  truth  would  not  permit  him.  Under  the  im- 
pression thus  made  I  gave  the  vote  befoi'e  mentioned.  I 
propose  now  to  give,  concisely,  the  process  of  the  examina- 
tion I  made,  and  how  I  reached  the  conclusion  I  did. 


APPENDIX.  393 

Speech  in  Congress,  Jan.  12, 1848.  On  the  Mexican  War. 

"  The  President,  in  his  first  message  of  May,  1846,  declares 
that  the  soil  was  ours  on  which  hostilities  were  commenced 
by  Mexico ;  and  he  repeats  that  declaration,  almost  in  the 
same  language,  in  each  successive  annual  message — thus 
showing  that  he  esteems  that  point  a  highly  essential  one. 
In  the  importance  of  that  point  I  entirely  agree  with  the 
President.  To  my  judgment,  it  is  the  very  point  upon  which 
he  should  be  justified  or  condemned.  In  his  message  of 
December,  1846,  it  seems  to  have  occurred  to  him,  as  is  cer- 
tainly true,  that  title,  ownership  to  soil,  or  any  thing  else,  is 
not  a  simple  fact,  but  is  a  conclusion  following  one  or  more 
simple  facts ;  and  that  it  was  incumbent  upon  him  to  present 
the  facts  from  which  he  concluded  the  soil  was  ours  on  which 
the  first  blood  of  the  war  was  shed. 

"Accordingly,  a  little  below  the  middle  of  page  twelve,  in 
the  message  last  referred  to,  he  enters  upon  that  task  ;  form- 
ing an  issue  and  introducing  testimony,  extending  the  whole 
to  a  little  below  the  middle  of  page  fourteen.  Now,  I  pro- 
pose to  try  to  show  that  the  whole  of  this — issue  and  evidence 
— is,  from  beginning  to  end,  the  sheerest  deception.  The 
issue,  as  he  presents  it,  is  in  these  words  :  '  But  there  are 
those  who,  conceding  all  this  to  be  true,  assume  the  ground 
that  the  true  western  boundary  of  Texas  is  the  Nueces, 
instead  of  the  Rio  Grande  ;  and  that,  therefore,  in  marching 
our  army  to  the  east  bank  of  the  latter  river,  we  passed  the 
Texan  line,  and  invaded  the  territory  of  Mexico.'  Now,  this 
i.-^sue  is  made  up  of  two  affirmatives  and  no  negative.  The 
main  deception  of  it  is,  that  it  assumes  as  true  that  one  river 
or  the  other  is  necessarily  the  boundary,  and  cheats  the 
superficial  thinker  entirely  out  of  the  idea  that  2)ossibly  the 
boundary  is  somewhere  between  the  two,  and  not  actually  at 
either.  A  further  deception  is,  that  it  will  let  in  evidence 
M'hich  a  true  issue  would  exclude.  A  true  issue  made  by  th« 
President  would  be  about  as  follows  :  '  I  say  the  soil  was  our." 


394  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Si)e('cli  in  Congress,  Jan.  12, 1848.  On  tUe  Mexican  War. 

on  which  the  first  blood  was  shed ;  there  are  those  who  say 
it  was  not.' 

"  I  now  proceed  to  examine  the  President's  evidence,  as 
applicable  to  such  an  issue.  When  that  evidence  is  analyzed 
it  is  all  included  in  the  following  propositions  : 

"  1.  That  the  Rio  Grande  was  the  western  boundary  of 
Louisiana,  as  we  purchased  it  of  France  in  1803. 

"  2.  That  the  Republic  of  Texas  alw^ays  claimed  the  Rio 
Grande  as  her  western  boundary. 

"  3.  That,  by  various  acts,  she  had  claimed  it  on  paper. 

"  4.  That  Santa  Anna,  in  his  treaty  with  Texas,  recognized 
the  Rio  Grande  as  her  boundary. 

"  5.  That  Texas  before,  and  the  United  States  after  annex- 
ation, had  exercised  jurisdiction  beyond  the  Nueces,  between 
the  two  rivers. 

"  6.  That  our  Congress  understood  the  boundary  of  Texas 
to  extend  beyond  the  Nueces. 

"  Now  for  each  of  these  in  its  turn  : 

"  His  first  item  is,  that  the  Rio  Grande  was  the  western 
boundary  of  Louisiana,  as  we  purchased  it  of  France  in  1803 ; 
and,  seeming  to  expect  this  to  be  disputed,  he  argues  over  the 
amount  of  nearly  a  page  to  prove  it  true  ;  at  the  end  of  which 
he  lets  us  know  that,  by  the  treaty  of  1819,  we  sold  to  Spain 
the  whole  country,  from  the  Rio  Grande  eastward  to  the 
Sabine.  Now,  admitting  for  the  present,  that  the  Rio  Grande 
was  the  boundary  of  Louisiana,  what,  under  heaven,  had  that 
to  do  with  the  present  boundary  between  us  and  Mexico  ? 
How,  Mr.  Chairman,  the  line  that  once  divided  your  land 
from  mine  can  still  be  the  boundary  between  us  after  I  have 
sold  my  land  to  you,  is,  to  me,  beyond  all  comprehension. 
And  how  any  man,  with  an  honest  purpose  only  of  proving 
the  truth,  could  ever  have  thought  of  introducing  such  a  fact 
to  prove  such  an  issue,  is  equally  incomprehensible.  The 
outrage  upon  common  right,  of  seizing  as  our  own  what  we 
liave  once  sold,  merely  because  it  was  ours  before  we  sold  it, 


APPENDIX.  395 


Speech  in  Congress,  Jan.  12, 1S18.  The  Boundary  of  Texaa. 


is  only  equaled  by  the  outrage  ou  common  sense  of  any  at- 
tempt to  justify  it. 

"  The  President's  next  piece  of  evidence  is,  that  '  The  Ke- 
public  of  Texas  always  claimed  this  river  (Rio  Grande)  as 
her  western  boundary.'  That  is  not  true,  in  fact.  Texas  has 
claimed  it,  but  she  has  not  ahvays  claimed  it.  There  is,  at 
least,  one  distinguished  exception.  Her  State  Constitution — 
the  public's  most  solemn  and  well-considered  act;  that  which 
may,  without  impropriety,  be  called  her  last  will  and  testa- 
ment, revoking  all  others — makes  no  such  claim.  But  sup- 
pose she  had  always  claimed  it.  Has  not  Mexico  always 
claimed  the  contrary  ?  So  that  there  is  but  claim  against 
claim,  leaving  nothing  proved  until  we  get  back  of  the  claims, 
and  find  which  has  the  better  fouudafion. 

"  Though  not  in  the  order  in  which  the  President  presents 
his  evidence,  I  now  consider  that  class  of  his  statements, 
which  are,  in  substance,  nothing  more  than  that  Texas  has 
by  various  acts  of  her  Convention  and  Congress,  claimed  the 
Rio  Grande  as  her  boundary — on  paper.  I  mean  here  what 
he  says  about  the  fixing  of  the  Rio  Grande  as  her  boundary, 
in  her  old  Constitution  (not  her  State  Constitution),  about 
forming  congressional  districts,  counties,  etc.  Now,  all  this 
is  but  naked  claim;  and  what  I  have  already  said  about 
claims  is  strictly  applicable  to  this.  If  I  should  claim  your 
land  by  word  of  mouth,  that  certainly  would  not  make  it 
mine  ;  and  if  I  were  to  claim  it  by  a  deed  which  I  had  made 
myself,  and  with  which  you  had  nothing  to  do,  the  claim 
would  be  quite  the  same  in  substance,  or  rather  in  utier 
nothingness. 

"  I  next  consider  the  President's  statement  that  Santa 
Anna,  in  his  treaty  with  Texas,  recognized  the  Rio  Grande  as 
the  western  boundary  of  Texas.  Besides  the  position  so  often 
taken  that  Santa  Anna,  while  a  prisoner  of  war — a  captive — 
could  not  bind  Mexico  by  a  treaty,  which  I  deem  conclusive : 
besides  this,  I  wish  to  say  something  in  relation  to  this  treaty 


396  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Speech  in  Congress.  The  Mexican  War, 

SO  called  bj  the  President,  with  Santa  Anna.  If  anv  man 
would  like  to  be  amused  by  a  sight  at  that  little  thing,  which 
the  President  calls  by  that  big  name,  he  can  have  it  by  turn- 
ing to  Xiles'  Register,  volume  50,  page  386.  And  if  any  one 
should  suppose  that  Niles'  Register  is  a  curious  repository 
of  so  mighty  a  document  as  a  solemn  treaty  between  nations, 
I  can  only  say  that  I  learned,  to  a  tolerable  degree  of  cer- 
tainty, by  inquiry  at  the  State  Department,  that  the  President 
himself  never  saw  it  anywhere  else.  By  the  way,  I  believe  I 
should  not  err  if  I  were  to  declare,  that  during  the  first  ten 
years  of  the  existence  of  that  document,  it  was  never  by  any- 
body called  a  treaty ;  that  it  was  never  so  called  till  the 
President,  in  his  extremity,  attempted,  by  so  calling  it,  to 
wring  something  from  it  in  justification  of  himself  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Mexican  war.  It  has  none  of  the  distinguishing 
features  of  a  treaty.  It  does  not  call  itself  a  treaty.  Santa 
Anna  does  not  therein  assume  to  bind  Mexico  ;  he  assumes 
only  to  act  as  President,  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Mexican 
army  and  navy ;  stipulates  that  the  then  present  hostilities 
should  cease,  and  that  he  would  not  himself  take  up  arms, 
nor  influence  the  Mexican  people  to  take  up  arms,  against 
Texas,  during  the  existence  of  the  war  of  independence.  He 
did  not  recognize  the  independence  of  Texas  ;  he  did  not  as- 
sume to  put  an  end  to  the  war,  but  clearly  indicated  his  ex- 
pectation of  its  continuance  ;  he  did  not  say  one  word  about 
boundary,  and  most  probably  never  thought  of  it.  It  is 
stipulated  therein  that  the  Mexican  forces  should  evacuate  the 
territory  of  Texas,  passing  to  the  other  side  of  the  Bio  Grande  ; 
and  in  another  article  it  is  stipulated,  that  to  prevent  collisions 
between  the  armies,  the  Texan  army  should  not  approach 
nearer  than  five  leagues — of  what  is  not  said — but  clearly, 
from  the  object  stated,  it  is  of  the  Rio  Grande.  Now,  if  this 
is  a  treaty  recognizing  the  Rio  Grande  as  a  boundary  of 
Texas,  it  contains  the  singular  feature  of  stipulating  that 
Texas  shall  not  go  within  five  leagues  of  her  own  boundary. 


APPEXDix.  397 


Speech  in  Congress.  The  Mexican  War.  Characteristic  Illustration. 


"  Xext  comes  the  evidence  that  Texas  before  annexation, 
and  the  United  States  afterward,  exercising  jurisdiction  be- 
yond the  Nueces,  and  between  the  two  rivers.  This  actual 
exercise  of  jurisdiction  is  the  very  class  or  quality  of  evidence 
we  want.  It  is  excellent  so  far  as  it  goes  ;  but  does  it  go  far 
enough  ?  He  tells  us  it  went  beyond  the  Nueces,  but  he  does 
not  tell  us  it  went  to  the  Rio  Grande.  He  tells  us  jurisdiction 
was  exercised  between  the  two  rivers,  but  he  does  not  tell  us 
it  was  exercised  over  all  the  territory  between  them.  Some 
simple-minded  people  think  it  possible  to  cross  one  river  and 
go  beyond  it,  without  going  all  the  way  to  the  next ;  that 
jurisdiction  may  be  exercised  between  two  rivers  without 
covering:  oil  the  countrv  between  them.  I  know  a  man,  not 
very  unlike  myself,  who  exercises  jurisdiction  over  a  piece  of 
land  between  the  Wabash  and  the  Mississippi ;  and  yet  so 
far  is  this  from  being  all  there  is  between  those  rivers,  that  it 
is  just  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  feet  long  by  fifty  wide,  and 
no  part  of  it  much  within  a  hundred  miles  of  either.  He  has 
a  neighbor  between  him  and  the  Mississippi — that  is,  just 
across  the  street,  in  that  direction — whom,  I  am  sure,  he 
could  neither  persuade  nor  force  to  give  up  his  habitation  ; 
but  which,  nevertheless  he  could  certainly  annex,  if  it  were 
to  be  done,  by  merely  standing  on  his  own  side  of  the  street 
and  claiming  it,  or  even  sitting  down  and  writing  a  deed  for  it. 

"  But  next,  the  President  tells  us,  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  understood  the  State  of  Texas  they  admitted 
into  the  Union  to  extend  beyond  the  Neuces.  Well,  I  sup- 
pose they  did — I  certainly  so  understand  it — but  Low  far 
beyond  ?  Tiiat  Congress  did  not  understand  it  to  extend 
clear  to  the  Rio  Grande,  is  quite  certain  by  the  fact  of  their 
joint  resolutions  for  admission  expressly  leaving  all  questions 
of  boundary  to  future  adjustment.  And,  it  may  be  added, 
that  Texas  herself  is  proved  to  have  had  the  same  under- 
standing of  it  that  our  Congress  had,  by  the  fact  of  the  exact 
conformity  of  her  new  Constitution  to  those  resolutions 


398  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Speech  in  Confess.  The  Mexican  War.  Boundary  Lines. 

"  I  am  now  through  the  whole  of  the  Presideut's  evidence  ; 
and  it  is  a  singular  fact,  that  if  any  one  should  declare  tho 
President  sent  the  army  into  the  midst  of  a  settlement  of 
Mexican  people,  who  had  never  submitted,  by  consent  or  by 
force  to  the  authority  of  Texas  or  of  the  United  States,  and 
that  there,  and  thereby,  the  first  blood  of  the  war  was  shed, 
there  is  not  one  word  in  all  the  President  has  said  which 
would  either  admit  or  deny  the  declaration.  In  this  strange 
omission  chiefly  consists  the  deception  of  the  President's  evi- 
dence— an  omission  which,  it  does  seem  to  me,  could  scarcely 
have  occurred  but  by  design.  My  way  of  living  leads  me  to 
be  about  the  courts  of  justice  ;  and  there  I  have  sometimes 
seen  a  good  lawyer,  struggling  for  his  client's  neck,  in  a 
desperate  case,  employing  every  artifice  to  work  round,  befog, 
and  cover  up  with  many  words  some  position  pressed  upon 
him  by  the  prosecution,  which  he  dared  not  admit,  and  yet 
could  not  deny.  Party  bias  may  help  to  make  it  appear  so  ; 
but,  with  all  the  allowance  I  can  make  for  such  bias,  it  still 
does  appear  to  me  that  just  such  and  from  just  such  necessity, 
are  the  President's  struggles  in  this  case. 

"  Some  time  after  my  colleague  (Mr.  Richardson)  intro- 
duced the  resolutions  I  have  mentioned,  I  introduced  a  pre- 
amble, resolution,  and  interrogatories,  intended  to  draw  the 
President  out,  if  possible,  on  this  hitherto  untrodden  ground. 
To  show  their  relevancy,  I  propose  to  state  my  understanding 
of  the  true  rule  for  ascertaining  the  boundary  betwen  Texas 
and  Mexico.  It  is,  that  wherever  Texas  was  exercising  juris- 
diction was  hers;  and  wherever  Mexico  was  exercising  juris- 
diction was  hers:  and  that  whatever  separated  the  actual 
exercise  of  jurisdiction  of  the  one  from  that  of  the  other,  was 
the  true  boundary  between  them.  If,  as  is  probably  true, 
Texas  was  exercising  jurisdiction  along  the  western  bank  of 
the  Xeuces,  and  Mexico  was  exercising  it  along  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  Rio  Grande,  then  neither  river  was  the  boundary, 
but  the  uninhabited  country  between   the   two   was.     The 


APPENDIX.  899 


Speech  in  Congress.  The  Mexican  War.  Right  to  Kevoltitionize. 

extent  of  our  territory  in  that  region  depended  not  on  any 
treaty-fixed  boundary  (for  no  treaty  had  attempted  it),  but  on 
revolution.  Any  people  anywhere,  being  inclined  and  having 
the  power,  have  the  right  to  rise  up  and  shake  off  the  existing 
srovernment,  and  form  a  new  one  that  suits  them  better. 
This  is  a  most  valuable,  a  most  sacred  right — a  right  which, 
we  hope  and  believe,  is  to  liberate  the  world.  Nor  is  this 
right  confined  to  cases  in  which  the  whole  people  of  an  exist- 
ing government  may  choose  to  exercise  it.  Any  portion  of 
such  people  that  can  may  revolutionize,  and  make  their  axon 
of  so  much  of  their  territory  as  they  inhabit.  More  than 
this,  a  majority  of  any  portion  of  such  people  may  revolu- 
tionize, putting  down  a  minority,  intermingled  with,  or  near 
about  them,  who  may  oppose  their  movements.  Such  minority 
was  precisely  the  case  of  the  Tories  of  our  own  Revolution. 
It  is  a  quality  of  revolutions  not  to  go  by  old  lines,  or  old 
laws;  but  to  break  up  both  and  make  new  ones.  As  to  the 
country  now  in  question,  we  bought  it  of  France  in  1803, 
and  sold  it  to  Spain  in  1819,  according  to  the  President's 
statement.  After  this,  all  Mexico,  includiug  Texas,  revolu- 
tionized against  Spain;  and  still  later,  Texas  revolutionized 
against  Mexico.  In  my  view,  just  so  far  as  she  carried  her 
revolution,  by  obtaining  the  actual,  willing  oi  unwilling  sub- 
mission of  the  people,  so  far  the  country  was  hers,  and  no 
further. 

"  Now,  sir,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  very  best  evi- 
dence as  to  whether  Texas  had  actually  carried  hei  revolution 
to  the  place  where  the  hostilities  of  the  present  war  com- 
menced, let  the  President  answer  the  interrogatories  I  pro- 
posed, as  before  mentioned,  or  some  other  similar  ones.  Let 
him  answer  fully,  fairly  and  candidly.  Let  him  answer  with 
facts,  and  not  with  arguments.  Let  him  remember  he  sits 
where  "Washington  sat ;  and,  so  remembering,  let  him  answer 
as  Washington  would  answer.  As  a  nation  should  not,  and 
the  Almighty  will  not,  be  evaded,  so  let  him  attempt  no 


400 


LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Speech  in  Congress. 


The  Mexican  War. 


evasion,  no  equivocation.  And  if,  so  answering,  he  can  show 
that  the  soil  was  ours  where  the  first  blood  of  the  war  was 
shed — that  it  was  not  within  an  inhabited  country,  or,  if 
within  such,  that  the  inhabitants  had  submitted  themselves 
to  the  civil  authority  of  Texas,  or  of  the  United  States,  and 
that  the  same  is  true  of  the  site  of  Fort  Brown — then  I  am 
with  him  for  his  justification.  In  that  case,  I  shall  be  most 
happy  to  reverse  the  vote  I  gave  the  other  day.  I  have  a 
selfish  motive  for  desiring  that  the  President  may  do  this  ;  I 
expect  to  give  some  votes,  in  connection  with  the  war,  which, 
without  his  so  doing,  will  be  of  doubtful  propriety,  in  my 
own  judgment,  but  which  will  be  free  from  the  doubt  if  he 
does  so.  But  if  he  can  not  or  will  not  do  this, — if,  on  any 
pretence,  or  no  pretence,  he  shall  refuse  or  omit  it, — then  I 
shall  be  fully  convinced,  of  what  I  more  than  suspect  already, 
that  he  is  deeply  conscious  of  being  in  the  wrong ;  that  he 
feels  the  blood  of  this  war,  like  the  blo^d  of  Abel,  is  crying 
to  heaven  against  him  ;  that  he  ordered  General  Taylor  into 
the  midst  of  a  peaceful  Mexican  settlement,  purposely  to 
bring  on  a  war ;  that  originally  having  some  strong  motive — 
what  I  will  not  stop  now  to  give  my  opinion  concerning — to 
involve  the  two  countries  in  a  war,  and  trusting  to  escape 
scrutiny  by  fixing  the  public  gaze  upon  the  exceeding  bright- 
ness of  military  glory — that  attractive  rainbow  that  rises  in 
showers  of  blood — that  serpent's  eye  that  charms  to  destroy — 
he  plunged  into  it,  and  has  swept  on  and  on,  till,  disappointed 
in  his  calculation  of  the  ease  with  which  Mexico  might  be 
subdued,  he  now  finds  himself  he  knows  not  where.  How 
like  the  half  insane  mumbling  of  a  fever  dream  is  the  whole 
war  part  of  the  late  message  !  At  one  time  telling  us  that 
Mexico  has  nothing  whatever  that  we  can  get  but  territory  ; 
at  another,  showing  us  how  we  can  support  the  war  by  levy- 
ing contributions  on  Mexico.  At  one  time  urging  the  national 
honor,  the  security  of  the  future,  the  prevention  of  foreign 
interference,  and  even  the  good  of  Mexico  herself,  as  among 


APPENDIX.  401 


Soeech  in  Congress.  The  Mexican  War. 

the  objects  of  tbe  war ;  at  another,  telling  us  that,  '  to  reject 
indemnity  by  refusing  to  accept  a  cession  of  territory,  would 
be  to  abandon  all  our  just  demands,  and  to  wage  the  war, 
bearing  all  its  expenses,  xoithout  a  purpose  or  definite  object.'' 
So,  then,  the  national  honor,  security  of  the  future,  and  every- 
thing but  territorial  indemnity,  may  be  considered  the  no 
purposes  and  indefinite  objects  of  the  war  !  But  having  it 
now  settled  that  territorial  indemnity  is  the  only  object,  we 
are  urged  to  seize,  by  legislation  here,  all  that  he  was  content 
to  take  a  few  months  ago,  and  the  whole  province  of  Lowei 
California  to  boot,  and  to  still  carry  on  the  war — to  take  all 
we  are  fighting  for,  and  still  fight  on.  Again,  the  President  is 
resolved,  under  all  circumstances,  to  have  full  territorial  in- 
demnity for  the  expenses  of  the  war ;  but  he  forgets  to  tell 
us  how  we  are  to  get  the  excess  after  those  expenses  shall 
have  surpassed  the  value  of  the  ichole  of  the  Mexican  terri- 
tory. So,  again,  he  insists  that  the  separate  national  existence 
of  Mexico  shall  be  maintained  ;  but  he  does  not  tell  us  hoio 
this  can  be  done  after  we  shall  have  taken  all  her  territory. 
Lest  the  question  I  here  suggest  be  considered  speculative 
merely,  let  me  be  indulged  a  moment  in  trying  to  show  they 
are  not. 

"The  war  has  gone  on  some  twenty  months  ;  for  the  ex- 
penses of  which,  together  with  an  inconsiderable  old  score, 
the  President  now  claims  about  one-half  of  the  Mexican 
territory,  and  that  by  far  the  better  half,  so  far  as  concerns  our 
ability  to  make  any  thing  out  of  it.  It  is  comparatively  un- 
inhal)ited  ;  so  that  we  could  establish  Land  offices  in  it,  and 
raise  some  money  in  that  way.  But  the  other  half  is  already 
inhabited,  as  I  understand  it,  tolerably  densely  for  the  nature 
of  the  country;  and  all  its  lands,  or  all  that  are  valuable, 
already  appropriated  as  private  ]iroperty.  How,  then,  are  we 
to  make  anv  thing  out  of  these  lands  with  this  incumbrance 
on  them,  or  how  remove  the  incumbrance?  I  suppose  no 
one  will  say  that  we  shall  kill  the  people,  or  drive  them  out. 


402  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LIXCOLN, 

Speech  in  Congress.  The  Mexican  War.        President's  Position  Unsatisfactory 

or  make  slaves  of  them,  or  even  confiscate  their  property  ? 
How,  then,  can  we  raake  much  out  of  this  part  of  the  terri- 
tory ?  If  the  prosecution  of  the  war  has,  in  expenses,  already 
equalled  the  better  half  of  the  country,  how  long  its  future 
prosecution  will  be  in  equalling  the  less  valuable  half  is  not 
a  speculative  but  a  practical  question,  pressing  closely  upon 
us ;  and  yet  it  is  a  question  which  the  President  seems  never 
to  have  thought  of. 

"As  to  the  mode  of  terminating  the  war  and  securing 
peace,  the  President  is  equally  wandering  and  indefinite. 
First,  it  is  to  be  done  by  a  more  vigorous  prosecution  of  the 
war  in  the  vital  parts  of  the  enemy's  country ;  and,  after 
apparently  talking  himself  tired  on  this  point,  the  President 
drops  down  into  a  half  despairing  tone,  and  tells  us,  that 
'  with  a  people  distracted  and  divided  by  contending  factions, 
and  a  government  subject  to  constant  changes,  by  successive 
revolutions,  the  continued  success  of  our  arms  may  fail  to 
obtain  a  satisfactory  peace.'  Then  he  suggests  the  propriety 
of  wheedling  the  Mexicau  people  to  desert  the  counsels  of 
their  own  leaders,  and,  trusting  in  our  protection,  to  set  up  a 
government  from  which  we  can  secure  a  satisfactory  peace, 
telling  us  that  'this  may  become  the  only  mode  of  obtaining 
such  a  peace.''  But  soon  he  falls  into  doubt  of  this  too,  and 
then  drops  back  on  to  the  already  half  abandoned  ground  of 
*  more  vigorous  prosecution.'  All  this  shows  that  the  Presi- 
deut  is  in  no  wise  satisfied  with  his  own  positions.  First,  he 
takes  up  one,  and,  in  attempting  to  argue  us  into  it,  he  argues 
himself  out  of  it ;  then  seizes  another,  and  goes  through  the 
same  process  ;  and  then,  confused  at  being  able  to  think  of 
nothing  new,  he  snatches  up  the  old  one  again,  which  he  has 
some  time  before  cast  off.  His  mind,  tasked  beyond  its  power, 
is  running  hither  and  thither,  like  some  tortured  creature  on 
a  burning  surface,  finding  no  such  position  on  which  it  can 
nettle  down  and  be  at  ease. 

"i\gain,  it  is  a  singular  omission  in  this  message,  that  it 


APPENDIX.  40ci 


Fpeech  in  Cougross.  Internal  Iniprovenientb. 

nowhere  intimates  whe7i  the  President  expects  the  war  to 
terminate.  At  its  beginning,  General  Scott  was,  by  this  same 
President  driven  into  disfavor,  if  not  disgrace,  for  intimating 
that  peace  could  not  be  conquered  in  less  than  three  or  four 
months.  But  now  at  the  end  of  about  twenty  months,  during 
which  time  our  arms  have  given  us  the  most  splendid  suc- 
cesses— every  department,  and  every  part,  land  and  water, 
officers  and  privates,  regulars  and  volunteers,  doing  all  that 
men  could  do,  and  hundreds  of  things  which  it  had  ever 
before  been  thought  that  men  could  not  do  ;  after  all  this, 
this  same  President  gives  us  a  long  message  without  showing 
us  that  as  to  the  end,  he  has  himself  even  an  imaginary  con- 
ception. As  I  have  before  said,  he  knows  not  where  he  is. 
He  is  a  bewildered,  confounded,  and  miserably-perplexed 
man.  God  grant  he  may  be  able  to  show  that  there  is  not 
something  about  his  conscience  more  painful  than  all  his 
mental  perplexity. 


SPEECH   ON   INTERNAL   IMPROVEMENTS. 
(In  Committee  of  the  Whole  House,  June  20,  1848.) 

Mr.  Lincoln  said  : 

"  Mil.  CiiAiiiMAN  : — T  wish  at  all  times  in  no  way  to  prac- 
tice any  fraud  upon  the  House  or  the  Committee,  and  I  also 
desire  to  do  nothing  which  may  be  very  disagreeable  to  any 
of  the  members.  I  therefore  state,  in  advance,  that  my  object 
in  taking  the  floor  is  to  make  a  speech  on  the  general  subject 
of  internal  improvements ;  and  if  I  am  out  of  order  in  doing 
so,  I  give  the'Chair  an  opportunity  of  so  deciding,  and  I  will 
take  my  seat." 

The  Chair. — "  I  will  not  undertake  to  anticipate  what  the 
gentleman  may  say  on  the  subject  of  internal  improvements, 
lie  will,  therefore,  proceed  in  his  remarks,  and  if  any  question 
of  order  shall  be  made,  the  Chair  will  then  decide  it  " 


40-i  LIFE    OF  ABRAHAM    LIXCOLN. 

Speech  in  Congress*.  Internal  Improvements. 

Mr.  Liucolu. — "At  an  early  day  of  this  session  the  Presi- 
dent sent  to  us  what  may  properly  be  termed  an  internal 
improvement  veto  message.  The  late  Democratic  Conven- 
tion which  sat  at  Baltimore,  and  which  nominated  General 
Cass  for  the  Presidency,  adopted  a  set  of  resolutions,  now 
called  the  Democratic  platform,  among  which  is  one  in  these 
words  : 

"  '  That  the  Constitution  does  not  confer  upon  the  General 
Government  the  power  to  commence  and  carry  on  a  general 
system  of  internal  improvements.' 

"  General  Cass,  in  his  letter  accepting  the  nomination,  holds 
this  language  : 

"  '  I  have  carefullv  read  the  resolutions  of  the  Democratic 
National  Convention,  laying  down  the  platform  of  our  politi- 
cal faith,  and  I  adhere  to  them  as  firmly  as  I  approve  them 
cordially.' 

"  These  things,  taken  together,  show  that  the  question  of 
internal  improvements  is  now  more  distinctly  made — has 
become  more  intense,  than  at  any  former  period.  It  can  no 
longer  be  avoided.  The  veto  message  and  the  Baltimore 
resolution  I  understand  to  be,  in  substance,  the  same  thing  ; 
the  latter  being  the  more  general  statement,  of  which  the 
former  is  the  amplification — the  bill  of  particulars.  While  I 
know  there  are  many  Democrats,  on  this  floor  and  elsewhere, 
who  disapprove  that  message,  I  understand  that  all  who  shall 
vote  for  General  Cass  will  thereafter  be  considered  as  having 
approved  it,  as  having  indorsed  all  its  doctrines.  I  suppose 
all,  or  nearly  all,  the  Democrats  will  vote  for  him.  Many  of 
them  will  do  so,  not  because  they  like  his  position  on  this 
question,  but  because  they  prefer  him,  being  wrong  in  this, 
to  another,  whom  they  consider  further  wrong  on  other 
questions.  In  this  way  the  internal  improvement  Democrats 
are  to  be,  by  a  sort  of  forced  consent,  carried  over,  and 
arrayed  against  themselves  on  this  measure  of  policy.  Gen- 
eral Cass,  once  elected,  will  not  trouble  himself  to  make  a 


APPENDIX,  405 

Speech  in  Congress.  Internal  ImproveMfCntB.        Presidenfs  Position  Repudiated. 

Constitutional  argument,  or,  perhaps,  any  argument  at  all, 
when  he  shall  veto  a  river  or  harbor  bill.  He  will  consider 
it  a  sufficient  answer  to  all  Democratic  murmurs,  to  point  to 
Mr.  Polk's  message,  and  to  the  "Democratic  platform." 
This  being  the  case,  the  question  of  improvements  is  verging 
to  a  final  crisis ;  and  the  friends  of  the  policy  must  now 
battle,  and  battle  manfully,  or  surrender  all.  In  this  view, 
humble  as  I  am,  I  wish  to  review,  and  contest  as  well  as  I 
may,  the  general  positions  of  this  veto  message.  When  I 
say  general  positions,  I  mean  to  exclude  from  eonsideraiion 
so  much  as  relates  to  the  present  embarrassed  state  of  the 
Treasury,  in  consequence  of  the  Mexican  war. 

"  Those  general  positions  are  :  That  internal  improvements 
ought  not  to  be  made  by  the  General  Government : 

"  1.  Because  they  would  overwhelm  the  treasury 

"  2.  Because,  while  their  burdens  would  be  general,  their 
benefits  would  be  local  and  partial,  involving  an  obnoxious 
inequality ; 

"  3.  Because  they  would  be  unconstitutional ; 

"  4.  Because  the  States  may  do  enough  by  the  levy  and 
collection  of  tonnage  duties ;  or,  if  not, 

"  5.  That  the  Constitution  may  be  amended. 

" '  Do  nothing  at  all,  lest  you  do  something  wrong,'  is  the 
sum  of  these  positions — is  the  sum  of  this  message  ;  and  this, 
with  the  exception  of  what  is  said  about  Constitutionaliiy, 
applying  as  forcibly  to  making  improvements  by  State  au- 
thority as  by  the  national  authority.  So  that  we  must  aban- 
don the  improvements  of  the  country  altogether,  by  any  and 
every  authority,  or  we  must  resist  and  repudiate  the  doctrines 
of  this  message.     Let  us  attempt  the  latter. 

"  The  first  position  is,  that  a  system  of  internal  improve- 
ment would  overwhelm  the  treasury. 

"  That,  in  such  a  system,  there  is  a  tendenry  to  undue  ex- 
pansion, is  not  to  be  denied.  Such  t/cndcncy  is  foundt'd  in  the 
nature  of  the  subject.     A  member  of  Congress  will  prefer 


406  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN, 

Speech  in  Congress.  Presuleut's  Position  Repudiated. 

voting  for  a  bill  which  contains  an  appropriation  for  his  dis- 
trict, to  voting  for  one  which  does  not;  and  when  a  bill  shall 
be  expanded  till  every  district  shall  be  provided  for,  that  it 
will  be  too  greatly  expanded  is  obvious.  But  is  this  any 
more  true  in  Congress  than  in  a  State  Legislature  ?  If  a 
member  of  Congress  must  have  an  appropriation  for  his  dis- 
trict, so  a  member  of  a  Legislature  must  have  one  for  his 
county ;  and  if  one  will  overwhelm  the  national  treasury,  so 
the  other  will  overwhelm  the  State  treasury.  Go  where  we 
will,  the  difficulty  is  the  same.  Allow  it  to  drive  us  from  the 
halls  of  Congress,  and  it  will  just  as  easily  drive  us  from  the 
State  Legislatures.  Let  us,  then,  grapple  with  it,  and  test 
its  strength.  Let  us,  judging  of  the  future  by  the  past, 
ascertain  whether  there  may  not  be,  in  the  discretion  of  Con- 
gress, a  sufficient  power  to  limit  and  restrain  this  expansive 
tendency  within  reasonable  and  proper  bounds.  The  Presi- 
dent himself  values  the  evidence  of  the  past.  He  tells  us 
that  at  a  certain  point  of  our  history,  more  than  two  hundred 
millions  of  dollars  had  been  applied  for,  to  make  improve- 
ments, and  this  he  does  to  prove  that  the  treasury  would  be 
overwhelmed  by  such  a  system.  Why  did  he  not  tell  us 
how  much  was  granted'?  Would  not  that  have  been  better 
evidence  ?  Let  us  turn  to  it,  and  see  what  it  proves.  In 
the  message,  the  President  tells  us  that  '  during  the  four 
succeeding  years,  embraced  by  the  administration  of  Presi 
dent  Adams,  the  power  not  only  to  appropriate  money,  but 
to  apply  it,  under  the  direction  and  authority  of  the  General 
Government,  as  well  to  the  construction  of  roads  as  to  the 
improvement  of  harbors  and  rivers,  was  fully  asserted  and 
exercised.' 

"  This,  then,  was  the  period  of  greatest  enormity.  These, 
if  any,  must  have  been  the  days  of  the  two  hundred  millions. 
And  how  much  do  you  suppose  was  really  expended  for  im- 
provements during  those  four  years  ?  Two  hundred  millions  ? 
One  hundred  ?  Fifty  ?  Ten  ?  Five  ?     No,  sir,  less  than  two 


APPENDIX.  407 

speech  in  Congress.  Internal  luiproTcnicnta. 

millions.     As  shown  by  authentic  documents,  the  expendi- 
tures on  improvements  during  1825,  1826,  1827  and  1828, 
amounted   to   $1,819,627  01.     These   four   years   were    the 
period  of  Mr.  Adams'  administration,  nearly,   and  substan- 
tially     This  fact  shows  that  when  the  power  to  make  im- 
provements was  '  fully  asserted  and  exercised,'  the  Congress 
did  keep  within  reasonable  limits  ;  and  what  has  been  done 
it  seems  to  me,  caii  be  done  again. 
"Now  for  the  second  position  of  the  message,  namely,  that 
the  burdens  of  improvements  would  be  general,  while  their 
benefits  would  be  local  and  partial,  involving  an  obnoxious 
inequality.     That  there  is  some  degree  of  truth  in  this  posi- 
tion I  shall  not  deny.     No  commercial  object  of  Government 
patronage  can  be  so  exclusively  general,  as  not  to  be  of  some 
peculiar  local  advantage ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  nothing  is 
so  local  as  not  to  be  of  some  general  advantage.     The  navy, 
as  I  understand  it,  was  established,  and  is  maintained,  at  a 
great  annual  expense,  partly  to  be  ready  for  war,  when  war 
shall  come,  but  partly  also,  and  perhaps  chicfl}',  for  the  pro- 
tection of  our  commerce  on  the  high  seas.     This  latter  object 
is,  for  all  I  can  see,  in  principle,  the  same  as  internal  improve- 
ments.    The  driving  a  pirate  from  the  track  of  commerce  o\\ 
the  broad  ocean,  and  the   removing  a  snag  from  its  more 
narrow  path  in  the  Mississippi  river,  can  not,  I  think,  be  dis- 
tinguished in  principle.     Each  is  done  to  save  life  and  pro- 
perty,  and  for  nothing  else.     The  navy,  then,  is  the  most 
general  in  its  benefits  of  all  this  class  of  objects  ;  and  yet  even 
the  navy  is  of  some  peculiar  advantage  to  Charleston,  Balti- 
more, Philadelphia,  New  York  and  Boston,  beyond  what  it 
is  to  the  interior  towns  of  Illinois.     The  next  most  general 
object  I  can  think  of,  would  be  improvements  on  the  Missis- 
sippi river  and  its  tributaries.     They  touch  thirteen  of  our 
States — Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Mis 
sissippi,    Louisiana,    Arkansas,    Missouri,    Illinois,    Indiana, 
Ohio,  Wisconsin,  and  Iowa.     Now,  I  suppose  it  will  not  be 


408  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Speech  in  Congress.  Internal  Improvements.        Compensation  in  Inequalites 

denied,  that  these  thirteen  States  are  a  little  more  interested 
in  improvements  on  that  great  river  than  are  the  remaining 
seventeen.  These  instances  of  the  navy,  and  the  Mississippi 
river  show  clearly  that  there  is  something  of  local  advantage 
m  the  most  general  objects.  But  the  converse  is  also  true. 
Nothing  is  so  local  as  not  to  be  of  some  general  benefit. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal.  Con- 
sidered apart  from  its  effects,  it  is  perfectly  local.  Every 
inch  of  it  is  within  the  State  of  Illinois.  That  canal  was  first 
opened  for  business  last  April.  In  a  very  few  days  we  were 
all  gratified  to  learn,  among  other  things,  that  sugar  had  been 
carried  from  New  Orleans,  through  the  canal,  to  Buffalo,  in 
New  York.  This  sugar  took  this  route,  doubtless,  because 
it  was  cheaper  than  the  old  route.  Supposing  the  benefit  in 
the  reduction  of  the  cost  of  carriage  to  be  shared  between 
seller  and  buyer,  the  result  is,  that  the  New  Orleans  mer- 
chant sold  his  sugar  a  little  dearer,  and  the  people  of  Buffalo 
sweetened  their  coffee  a  little  cheaper  than  before  ;  a  benefit 
resulting yro?H  the  canal,  not  to  Illinois,  where  the  canal  is, 
but  to  Louisiana  and  New  York,  where  the  canal  is  not.  In 
other  transactions  Illinois  will,  of  course,  have  her  share,  and 
perhaps  the  larger  share  too,  in  the  benefits  of  the  canal ;  but 
the  instance  of  the  sugar  clearly  shows  that  the  benefits  of  an 
improvement  are  by  no  means  confined  to  the  particular 
locality  of  the  improvement  itself 

"  The  just  conclusion  from  all  this  is,  that  if  the  nation 
refuse  to  make  improvements  of  the  more  general  kind, 
because  their  benefits  may  be  somewhat  local,  a  State  may, 
for  the  same  reason,  refuse  to  make  an  improvement  of  a  local 
kind,  because  its  benefits  may  be  somewhat  general.  A  State 
may  well  say  to  the  Nation  :  '  If  you  will  do  nothing  for  me, 
I  will  do  nothing  for  you.'  Thus  it  is  seen,  that  if  this 
argument  of  '  inequality'  is  sufficient  anywhere,  it  is  sufficient 
everywhere,  and  puts  an  end  to  improvements  altogether. 
I  hope  and  believe,  that  if  both  the  Nation  and  the  States 


APPENDIX.  40y 


Speccli  in  Congress.  Internal  Improvements.        Coal  better  than  Abstractions. 

would,  in  faith,  in  their  respective  spheres,  do  what  they 
could  in  the  way  of  improvements,  what  of  inequality  might 
be  produced  in  one  place  might  be  compensated  in  another, 
and  that  the  sum  of  the  whole  might  not  be  very  unequal. 
But  suppose,  after  all,  there  should  be  some  degree  of  in- 
equality :  inequality  is  certainly  never  to  be  embraced  for  its 
own  sake  :  but  is  evcrv  good  thing  to  be  discarded  which  may 
be  inseparably  connected  with  some  degree  of  it  ?  If  so,  we 
must  discard  all  government.  This  Capitol  is  built  at  the 
])ul)lic  expense,  for  the  public  benefit ;  but  does  any  one  doubt 
that  it  is  of  some  peculiar  local  advantage  to  the  property 
holders  and  business  people  of  Washington  ?  Shall  we  re- 
move it  for  this  reason  ?  And  if  so,  where  shall  we  set  it 
down,  and  be  free  from  the  difficult}^  ?  To  make  sure  of  our 
object  shall  we  locate  it  nowhere,  and  leave  Congress  here- 
after to  hold  its  sessions  as  the  loafer  lodged,  'in  spots 
about  V  I  make  no  special  allusion  to  the  present  President 
when  I  say,  there  are  few  stronger  cases  in  this  world  of 
'  burden  to  the  many,  and  benefit  to  the  few' — of  '  inequality' 
— than  the  Presidency  itself  is  by  some  thought  to  be.  An 
honest  laborer  digs  coal  at  about  seventy  cents  a  day,  while 
the  President  digs  abstractions  at  about  seventy  dollars  a 
day.  The  coal  is  clearly  worth  more  than  the  abstractions, 
and  yet  what  a  monstrous  inequality  in  the  prices  !  Does 
the  President,  for  this  reason,  propose  to  abolish  the  Presi- 
dency ?  He  does  not,  and  he  ought  not.  The  true  rule,  in 
determining  to  embrace  or  reject  any  thing,  is  not  whether 
it  have  any  evil  in  it,  but  whether  it  have  more  of  evil  than 
of  good.  There  are  few  things  ivJiolly  evil  or  loholly  good, 
almost  every  thing,  especially  of  government  policy,  is  an 
inseparable  compound  of  the  two  ;  so  that  our  best  judgment 
of  the  preponderance  between  them  is  continually  demanded. 
On  this  principle,  the  President,  his  friends,  auvi  the  world 
generally,  act  on  mos*t  subjects.     Why  not  apply  it,  then, 


410  LIFE   OF  ABKAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Speech  in  Congress.  Internal  Improvements.        Chancellor  Kent's  Commentaries. 

upon  this  question  ?     Why,  as  to  improvements,  magnify  the 
ecil,  and  stoutly  refuse  to  see  any  good  in  them  ? 

"  Mr  Chairman,  on  the  third  position  of  the  message  (the 
Constitutional  question)  I  have  not  much  to  say.  Being  the 
man  I  am,  and  speaking  when  I  do,  I  feel  that  in  any  attempt 
at  an  original.  Constitutional  argument,  I  should  not  be,  and 
ought  not  to  be,  listened  to  patiently.  The  ablest  and  the 
best  of  men  have  gone  over  the  whole  ground  long  ago.  I 
shall  attempt  but  little  more  than  a  brief  notice  of  what  some 
of  them  have  said.  In  relation  to  Mr.  Jefferson's  views,  I 
read  from  Mr.  Polk's  veto  messasre  : 

"  'President  Jefferson,  in  his  message  to  Congress  in  1806, 
recommended  an  amendment  of  the  Constitution,  with  a  view 
to  apply  an  anticipated  surplus  in  the  treasury  '  to  the  great 
purposes  of  the  public  education,  roads,  rivers,  canals,  and 
such  other  objects  of  public  improvements  as  it  may  be 
thought  proper  to  add  to  the  Constitutional  enumeration  of 
the  Federal  powers.'  And  he  adds:  'I  suppose  an  amend- 
ment to  the  Constitution,  by  consent  of  the  States,  necessary, 
because  the  objects  now  recommended  are  not  among  those 
enumerated  in  the  Constitution,  and  to  which  it  permits  the 
public  moneys  to  be  applied.'  In  1825,  he  repeated,  in  his 
published  letters,  the  opinion  that  no  such  power  had  been 
couferred  upon  Congress.' 

"  I  introduce  this,  not  to  controvert,  just  now,  the  Consti 
tutional  opinion,  but  to  show,  that  on  the  question  oi  expedi- 
ency, Mr.  Jefferson's  opinion  was  against  the  present  Presi- 
dent— that  this  opinion  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  one  branch  at 
least,  is,  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Polk,  like  McFingal's  gun : 

"  'Bears  wide  and  kicks  the  owner  over.' 

"But,  to  the  Constitutional  question.  In  1826,  Chancellor 
Kent  first  published  his  Commentaries  on  American  Law. 
He  devoted  a  portion  of  one  of  the  lectures  to  the  question 
of  the  authority  of  Congress  to  appropriate  public  moneys  for 


APPENDIX.  411 

* 


SpoccU  iu  Cougies:s.  lutLTiiiil  Iiiiiirovemcnts.     *  Justice  Story's  Commentaries. 

internal  improvements.  He  mentions  that  the  question  had 
'never  been  brought  under  judicial  consideration,  and  proceeds 
to  give  a  brief  summary  of  the  discussions  it  had  undergone 
Detween  the  legisUtjf  e  and  executive  branches  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. He  shows  that  the  legislative  branch  had  usually 
beenybr,  and  the  executive  against,  the  power,  till  the  period 
of  Mr.  J.  Q.  Adams'  administration  ;  at  which  point  ho  con- 
siders the  executive  influence  as  withdrawn  from  opposition, 
and  added  to  the  support  of  the  power.  In  1844,  the  Chan- 
celor  published  a  new  edition  of  his  Commentaries,  in  which 
he  adds  some  notes  of  what  had  transpired  on  the  question 
since  1826.  I  have  not  time  to  read  the  original  text,  or  the 
notes,  but  the  whole  may  be  found  on  page  26Y,  and  the  two 
or  three  following  pages  of  the  first  volume  of  the  edition  of 
1844.  As  what  Chancellor  Kent  seems  to  consider  the  sum 
of  the  whole,  I  read  from  one  of  the  notes  : 

"  '  Mr.  Justice  Story,  in  his  Commentaries  on  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  vol.  2,  page  429-440,  and  again, 
page  519-538,  has  stated  at  large  the  arguments  for  and 
against  the  proposition  that  Congress  have  a  Constitutional 
authority  to  lay  taxes,  and  to  apply  the  power  to  regulate 
commerce,  as  a  means  directly  to  encourage  and  protect 
domestic  manufactures ;  and,  without  giving  any  opinion  of 
his  own  on  the  contested  doctrine,  he  has  left  the  reader  to 
draw  his  own  conclusion.  I  should  think,  however,  from  the 
arguments  as  stated,  that  every  mind  which  has  taken  no  part 
in  the  discussions,  and  felt  no  prejudice  or  territorial  bias  on 
either  side  of  the  question,  would  deem  the  arguments  in 
favor  of  the  Congressional  power  vastly  superior.' 

"  It  will  be  seen,  that  in  this  extract,  the  power  to  make 
improvements  is  not  directly  mentioned  ;  but  by  examining 
the  context,  both  of  Kent  and  of  Story,  it  will  appear  that 
the  power  mentioned  in  the  extract  and  the  poiver  to  make 
improvements,  arc  regarded  as  identical.  It  is  not  to  be 
denied  that  many  great  and  good  men  have  been  against  the 


412  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LIXCOLX, 

Speech  in  Congress.  Internal  Improvements.  Tonnage  Dutiei 

power ;  but  it  is  insisted  that  quite  as  many,  as  great,  and  as 
good,  have  been /or  it ;  and  it  is  shown  that,  on  a  full  survey 
of  the  whole,  Chancelor  Kent  M'as  of  opinion  that  the  argu- 
ments of  the  latter  were  vastly  superior.  This  is  but  the 
opinion  of  a  man  ;  but  who  was  that  man  ?  He  was  one  of 
the  ablest  and  most  learned  lawyers  of  his  age,  or  of  any 
other  age.  It  is  no  disparagement  to  Mr.  Polk,  nor,  indeed, 
to  any  one  who  devotes  much  time  to  politics,  to  be  placed 
far  behind  Chancelor  Kent  as  a  lawyer.  His  attitude  was 
most  favorable  to  correct  conclusions.  He  wrote  coolly  and 
m  retirement.  He  was  struggling  to  rear  a  durable  monu- 
ment of  fame ;  and  he  well  knew  that  truth  and  thoroughly 
sound  reasoning  were  the  only  sure  foundations.  Can  the 
party  opinion  of  a  party  President,  on  a  law  question,  as  this 
purely  is,  be  at  all  compared  or  set  in  opposition  to  that  of 
such  a  man,  in  such  an  attitude  as  Chancelor  Kent  ? 

"  This  Constitutional  question  will  probably  never  be  better 
settled  than  it  is,  until  it  shall  pass  under  judicial  considera- 
tion ;  but  I  do  think  that  no  man  who  is  clear  on  this  ques- 
tion of  expediency  need  feel  his  conscience  much  pricked 
upon  this. 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  the  President  seems  to  think  that  enough 
may  be  done  in  the  way  of  improvements,  by  means  of  ton- 
nage duties,  under  State  authority,  with  the  consent  of  the 
General  Government.  Now,  I  suppose  this  matter  of  tonnage 
duties  is  well  enough  in  its  own  sphere.  I  suppose  it  may 
be  efficient,  and  perhaps  sufficient,  to  make  slight  improve- 
ments and  repairs  in  harbors  already  in  use,  and  not  much 
out  of  repair.  But  if  I  have  any  correct  general  idea  of  it, 
it  must  be  wholly  inefficient  for  any  generally  beneficent  pur- 
poses of  improvement.  I  know  very  little,  or  rather  nothing 
at  all,  of  the  practical  matter  of  levying  and  collecting  ton- 
nage duties ;  but  I  suppose  one  of  its  principles  must  be,  to 
lay  a  duty,  for  the  improvement  of  any  particular  harbor, 
y.pon  the  tonnage  coming  into  that  harbor.     To  do  otherwise 


APPENDIX.  413 


Speech  in  Congress.  Internal  Improvonu-nts.  Characteristic  Illustration. 

— to  collect  money  iii  one  harbor  to  be  expended  in  improve- 
ments in  another — would  be  an  extremely  aggravated  form 
of  that  inequality  which  the  President  so  much  deprecates. 
If  I  be  right  in  this,  how  could  we  make  any  entirely  new 
improvements  by  means  of  tonnage  duties  ?  How  make  a 
road,  a  canal,  or  clear  a  greatly  obstructed  river  ?  The  idea 
that  we  could,  involves  the  same  absurdit}'  of  the  Irish  bull 
about  the  new  boots  :  '  I  shall  never  git  'em  on,'  says  Pat- 
rick, 'till  I  wear  'em  a  day  or  two,  and  stretch  'em  a  little.' 
We  shall  never  make  a  canal  by  tonnage  duties,  until  it  shall 
already  have  been  made  awhile,  so  the  tonnage  can  get 
into  it. 

"After  all,  the  President  concludes  that  possibly  there 
may  be  some  great  objects  of  improvements  which  can  not  be 
effected  by  tonnage  duties,  and  which,  therefore,  may  be  ex- 
pedient for  the  General  Government  to  take  in  hand.  Ac- 
cordingly, he  suggests,  in  case  any  such  be  discovered,  the 
propriety  of  amending  the  Constitution.  Amend  it  for  what  ? 
If,  like  Mr.  Jefferson,  the  President  thought  improvements 
expedient  but  not  Constitutional,  it  would  be  natural  enough 
for  him  to  recommend  such  an  amendment ;  but  hear  what 
he  says  in  this  very  message  : 

"  'In  view  of  these  portentous  consequences,  I  can  not  but 
think  that  this  course  of  legislation  should  be  arrested,  even 
were  there  nothing  to  forbid  it  in  the  fundamental  laws  of 
our  Union.' 

"  For  what,  then,  would  he  have  the  Constitution  amended  ? 
With  him  it  is  a  proposition  to  remove  one  impediment, 
merely  to  be  met  by  others,  which,  in  his  opinion,  can  not  be 
removed — to  enable  Congress  to  do  what,  in  his  opinion,  they 
ought  not  to  do  if  they  could." 

[Uere  Mr.  Meade,  of  Virginia,  inquired  if  Mr.  L.  under- 
stood the  President  to  be  opposed,  ou  grounds  of  expediency, 
to  any  and  every  improvement  ? 

To  which  Mr.  Lincoln  answered  :  "  In  the  very  part  of  his 


il-i  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN, 

;5peecU  in  Congress.  Internal  Improvements.        Amending  the  Constitution 

message  of  which  I  am  now  speaking,  I  understand  him  as 
giving  some  vague  expressions  in  favor  of  some  possible 
objects  of  improvement ;  but,  in  doing  so,  I  understand  him 
to  be  directly  in  the  teeth  of  his  own  arguments  in  other  parts 
of  it.  Neither  the  President,  nor  any  one,  can  possibly 
pecify  an  improvement,  which  shall  not  be  clearly  liable  to 
one  or  another  of  the  objections  he  has  urged  on  the  score  of 
expediency;  I  have  shown,  and  might  show  again,  that  no 
work — no  object — can  be  so  general,  as  to  dispense  its  benefits 
with  precise  equality ;  and  this  inequality  is  chief  among  the 
'  portentous  consequences'  for  which  he  declares  that  im- 
provments  should  be  arrested.  No,  sir ;  when  the  President 
intimates  that  something  in  the  way  of  improvements  may 
properly  be  done  by  the  General  Government,  he  is  shrink- 
ing from  the  conclusions  to  which  his  own  arguments  would 
force  him.  He  feels  that  the  improvements  of  this  broad  and 
goodly  land  are  a  mighty  interest ;  and  he  is  unwilling  to 
confess  to  the  people,  or  perhaps  to  himself,  that  he  has  built 
an  argument  which,  when  pressed  to  its  conclusion,  entirely 
annihilates  this  interest. 

"  I  have  already  said  that  no  one  who  is  satisfied  of  the 
expediency  of  making  improvements  need  be  much  uneasy  in 
his  conscience  about  its  Constitutionality.  I  wish  now  to 
submit  a  few  remarks  on  the  general  proposition  of  amending 
the  Constitution.  As  a  General  rule,  I  think  we  would  do 
much  better  to  let  it  alone.  No  slight  occasion  should  tempt 
us  to  touch  it.  Better  not  take  the  first  step,  which  may 
lead  to  a  habit  of  altering  it.  Better  rather  habituate  our- 
selves to  think  of  it  as  unalterable.  It  can  scarcely  be  made 
better  than  it  is.  New  provisions  would  introduce  new  diffi- 
culties, and  thus  create  and  increase  appetite  for  further 
change.  No,  sir ;  let  it  stand  as  it  is.  New  hands  have 
never  touched  it.  The  men  who  made  it  have  done  their 
work,  aud  have  passed  away.  Who  shall  improve  on  what 
they  did  ? 


APPEXDIX.  415 


Speech  in  Congress.  Internal  Iniprovementa 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  for  the  purj^osc  of  reviewing  this  message 
in  the  least  possible  time,  as  well  as  for  the  sake  of  distiuct- 
ness,  I  have  analyzed  its  arguments  as  well  as  I  could,  and 
reduced  them  to  the  propositions  I  have  stated.  I  have  now 
examined  them  in  detail.  I  wish  to  detain  the  committee 
only  a  little  while  longer,  with  some  general  I'cmarks  on  the 
subject  of  improvements.  That  the  subject  is  a  difficult  one, 
can  not  be  denied.  Still,  it  is  no  more  difficult  in  Congress 
than  in  the  State  legislatures,  in  the  counties  or  in  the 
smallest  municipal  districts  which  everywhere  exist.  All 
can  recur  to  instances  of  this  ^difficulty  in  the  case  of  county 
roads,  bridges,  and  the  like.  One  man  is  oifended  because  a 
road  passes  over  his  land ;  and  another  is  oflFended  because  it 
does  not  pass  over  his ;  one  is  dissatisfied  because  the  bridge, 
for  which  he  is  taxed,  crosses  the  river  on  a  different  road 
from  that  which  leads  from  his  house  to  town  ;  another  can 
not  bear  that  the  county  should  get  in  debt  for  these  same 
roads  and  bridges ;  while  not  a  few  struggle  hard  to  have 
roads  located  over  their  lands,  and  then  stoutly  refuse  to  let 
them  be  opened,  until  they  are  first  paid  the  damages.  Even 
between  the  different  wards  and  streets  of  towns  and  cities, 
we  find  this  same  wrangling  and  difficulty.  Now,  these  are 
no  other  than  the  very  difficulties  against  which,  and  out  of 
which,  the  President  constructs  his  objections  of  '  inequalty,' 
'speculation,'  and  'crushing  the  Treasury.'  There  is  but  a 
single  alternative  about  them — they  are  sufficient,  or  they 
are  not.  If  sufficient,  they  are  sufficient  out  of  Congress  as 
well  as  in  it,  and  there  is  the  end.  "We  must  reject  them 
as  insufficient,  or  lie  down  and  do  nothing  by  any  authority. 
Then,  difficulty  though  there  be,  let  us  meet  and  overcome  it 

'Attempt  the  end,  and  never  stand  to  doubt; 
Nothing  so  hard,  but  search  will  find  it  out.' 

"Determine  that  the  thing  can  and  shall  be  done,  and 
then  we  shall  find  the  way.     The  tendency  to  undue  expan- 


416  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM    LIXCOLN. 

Speech  in  Congress.  Internal  Improvements.  Value  of  Statistics. 

sion  is  unquestionably  the  chief  difficulty.  How  to  do  some- 
thing,  and  still  not  to  do  too  much,  is  the  desideratum.  Let 
each  contribute  his  mite  in  the  way  of  suggestion.  The  late 
Silas  Wright,  in  a  letter  to  the  Chicago  Convention,  contrib- 
uted his,  which  was  worth  something ;  and  I  now  contribute 
mine,  which  may  be  worth  nothing.  At  all  events,  it  will 
mislead  nobody,  and  therefore  will  do  no  harm.  I  would  not 
borrow  money.  I  am  against  an  overwhelming,  crushing 
system.  Suppose  that  at  each  session.  Congress  shall  fii-st 
determine  liow  much  money  can,  for  that  year,  be  spared  for 
improvements  ;  then  apportion  that  sum  to  the  most  imjwr- 
tant  objects.  So  far  all  is  easy  ;  but  how  shall  we  determine 
which  are  the  most  important  ?  On  this  question  comes  the 
collision  of  interests.  I  shall  be  slow  to  acknowledge  that 
your  harbor  or  your  river  is  more  important  than  mine,  and 
vice  versa.  To  clear  this  difficulty,  let  us  have  that  same 
statistical  information  which  the  gentleman  from  Ohio  [Mr. 
Yinton]  suggested  at  the  beginning  of  this  session.  In  that 
information  we  shall  have  a  stern,  unbending  basis  of  facts — 
a  basis  in  nowise  subject  to  w^him,  caprice,  or  local  interest. 
The  pre-limited  amount  of  means  will  save  us  from  doing  too 
much,  and  the  statistics  will  save  us  from  doing  what  we  do 
in  wrong  places.  Adopt  and  adhere  to  this  course,  and,  it 
seems  to  me,  the  difficulty  is  cleared. 

"  One  of  the  gentlemen  from  South  Carolina  (Mr.  Rhett) 
very  much  deprecates  these  statistics.  He  particularly  ob- 
jects, as  I  understand  him,  to  counting  all  the  pigs  and 
chickens  in  the  land.  I  do  not  perceive  much  force  in  the 
objection.  It  is  true,  that  if  every  thing  be  enumerated,  a 
portion  of  such  statistics  may  not  be  very  useful  to  this  ob- 
ject. Such  products  of  the  country  as  are  to  be  consumed 
where  they  are  produced,  need  no  roads  and  rivers,  no  means 
of  transportation,  and  have  no  very  proper  connection  with 
this  subject.  The  surplus,  that  which  is  produced  in  one 
place  to  be  consumed  in  another ;  the  capacity  of  each  locality 


APPENDIX.  417 


Speech  in  Cougiess.  Presidoucy  and  Geneial  Pulitics.  The  Veto  Power. 

for  producing  a  greater  surplus ;  the  natural  means  of  trans- 
portation, and  their  susceptibility  of  improvement ;  the  hin- 
drances, delays,  and  losses  of  life  and  property  during 
transportation,  and  the  causes  of  each,  would  be  among  the 
most  valuable  statistics  in  this  connection.  From  these  it 
would  readily  appear  where  a  given  amount  of  expenditure 
would  do  the  most  good.  These  statistics  might  be  equally 
accessible,  as  they  would  be  equally  useful,  to  both  the  Nation 
and  the  States.  In  this  way,  and  by  these  means,  let  the 
nation  take  hold  of  the  larger  works,  and  the  States  the 
smaller  ones ;  and  thus,  working  in  a  meeting  direction,  dis- 
creetly, but  steadily  and  firmly,  what  is  made  unequal  in  one 
place  may  be  equalized  in  another,  extravagance  avoided,  and 
the  whole  country  put  on  that  career  of  prosperity,  which 
shall  correspond  with  its  extent  of  territory,  its  natural  re- 
sources, and  the  intelligence  and  enterprise  of  its  people." 


SPEECH  ON  THE  PRESIDENCY  AND  GENERAL  POLITICS. 
(Delivered  in  the  House,  July  27,  1848.) 

GENERAL  TAYLOR  AND  THE  VETO  POWER. 

"Mr.  Speaker: — Our  Democratic  friends  seem  to  be  in 
great  distress  because  they  think  our  candidate  for  the  Pres- 
idency don't  suit  us.  Most  of  them  can  not  find  out  that 
General  Taylor  has  any  principles  at  all  ;  some,  however, 
have  discovered  that  he  has  one,  but  that  that  one  is  entirely 
wrong.  This  one  principlq  is  his  position  on  the  veto  power. 
The  gentleman  from  Tennessee  (Mr.  Stanton)  who  has  just 
taken  his  seat,  indeed,  has  said  there  is  very  little  if  any  dif- 
ference on  this  question  between  General  Taylor  and  all  the 
Presidents  ;  and  he  seems  to  think  it  sufficient  detraction  from 
General  Taylor's  position  on  it,  that  it  has  nothing  new  in  it. 
IJut  all  others  whom  I  have  heard  speak  assail  it  furiouslv 
A  new  member  from  Kentucky  (Mr.  Clarke)  of  very  consid- 


418  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN, 

Speech  in  Congress.  The  Veto  Power.  Jefferson's  Views. 

erable  ability,  was  in  particular  concern  about  it.  He  thought 
it  altogether  novel  and  unprecedented  for  a  President,  or  a 
Presidential  candidate,  to  think  of  approving  bills  whose 
Constitutionality  may  not  be  entirely  clear  to  his  own  mind. 
He  thinks  the  ark  of  our  safety  is  gone,  unless  Presidents  shall 
always  veto  such  bills  as,  in  their  judgment,  ma}^  be  of  doubt- 
ful Constitutionality.  However  clear  Congress  may  be  of 
their  authority  to  pass  any  particular  act,  the  gentleman 
from  Kentucky  thinks  the  President  must  veto  it  if  he  has 
doubts  about  it.  Now  I  have  neither  time  nor  inclination  to 
argue  with  the  gentleman  on  the  veto  power  as  an  original 
question ;  but  I  wish  to  show  that  General  Taylor,  and  not 
he,  agrees  with  the  earliest  statesmen  on  this  question.  "When 
the  bill  chai'tering  the  first  Bank  of  the  United  States  passed 
Congress,  its  Constitutionality  was  questioned  ;  Mr.  Madison, 
then  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  as  well  as  others,  had 
opposed  it  on  that  ground.  Genei'al  "Washington,  as  Presi- 
dent, was  called  on  to  approve  or  reject  it.  He  sought  and 
obtained,  on  the  Constitutional  question,  the  separate  written 
opinions  of  Jefferson,  Hamilton,  and  Edmund  Randolph,  they 
then  being  respectively  Secretary  of  State,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  and  Attorney  General.  Hamilton's  opinion  was 
for  the  power  ;  while  Randolph's  and  Jefferson's  were  both 
against  it.  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  his  letter  dated  February  15th, 
1*191,  after  giving  his  opinion  decidedly  against  the  Constitu- 
tionality of  that  bill,  closed  with  the  paragraph  which  I  now 
read: 

"'It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  unless  the  Presi- 
dent's mind,  on  a  view  of  every  thing  which  is  urged  for  and 
against  this  bill,  is  tolerably  clear  that  it  is  unauthorized  by 
the  Constitution  ;  if  the  pro  and  the  con  hang  so  even  as  to 
balance  his  judgment,  a  just  respect  for  the  wisdom  of  the 
Legislature  would  naturally  decide  the  balance  in  favor  of 
their  opinion ;   it  is  chiefly  for  cases  where  they  are  clearly 


APPENDIX.  419 


Speech  in  Congress.  The  Veto  Power.  Gen.  Taylor's  Views. 

misled  bj  error,  ambition,  or  interest,  that  the  Constitution 
has  placed  a  check  in  the  negative  of  the  President.' 

"  General  Taylor's  opinion,  as  expressed  in  his  Allison 
letter,  is  as  I  now  read  : 

"  '  The  power  given  by  the  veto  is  a  high  conservative 
power ;  but,  in  my  opinion,  should  never  be  exercised,  except 
in  cases  of  clear  violation  of  the  Constitution,  or  manifest 
haste  and  want  of  consideration  by  Congress. 

"  It  is  here  seen  that,  in  Mr.  Jefferson's  opinion,  if,  on  the 
Constitutionality  of  any  given  bill,  the  President  doubts,  he  is 
not  to  veto  it,  as  the  gentleman  from  Kentucky  would  have 
him  to  do,  but  is  to  defer  to  Congress  and  approve  it.  And 
if  we  compare  the  opinions  of  Jefferson  and  Taylor,  as  ex- 
pressed in  these  paragraphs,  we  shall  find  them  more  exactly 
alike  than  we  can  often  find  an}"  two  expressions  having  any 
literal  difference.  None  but  interested  fault-finders,  can  dis- 
cover any  substantial  variation. 

"  But  gentlemen  on  the  other  side  are  unanimously  agreed 
that  Gen.  Taylor  has  no  other  principle.  They  are  in  utter 
darkness  as  to  his  opinions  on  any  of  the  questions  of  policy 
which  occupy  the  public  attention.  But  is  there  any  doubt 
as  to  what  he  will  do  on  the  prominent  question,  if  elected  ? 
Not  the  least.  It  is  not  possible  to  know  what  he  will  or 
would  do  in  every  imaginable  case  ;  because  many  questions 
have  passed  away,  and  others  doubtless  will  arise  which  none 
of  us  have  yet  thought  of;  but  on  the  prominent  questions  of 
currency,  tariff,  internal  improvements,  and  Wilmot  proviso. 
General  Taylor's  course  is  at  least  as  well  defined  as  is  Gen- 
eral Ca.ss's.  Why,  in  their  eagerness  to  get  at  General  Tay- 
lor, several  Democratic  members  here  have  desired  to  know 
whether,  in  case  of  his  election,  a  bankrupt  law  is  to  be  estab- 
lished. Can  they  tell  us  General  Cass's  opinion  on  this 
question?  (Some  member  answered,  'He  is  against  it.') 
Aye,  how  do  you  know  he  is  ?  There  is  nothing  about  it  in 
the  platform,  nor  elsewhere,  that  I  have  seen.     If  the  gentle- 


42'.)  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN". 

Speech  in  Confcrcss.  The  Presidency  and  General  Politics. 

man  knows  any  thing  which  I  do  not,  he  can  show  it.  But 
to  return  :  General  Taylor,  in  his  Allison  letter  says : 

" '  Upon  the  subject  of  the  tariff,  the  currency,  the  im- 
provement of  our  great  highways,  rivers,  lakes,  and  harbors, 
the  will  of  the  people,  as  expressed  through  their  Represen- 
tatives in  Congress,  ought  to  be  respected  and  carried  out 
by  the  Executive.' 

"Now,  this  is  the  whole  matter — in  substance,  it  is  this: 
The  people  say  to  General  Taylor,  '  If  you  are  elected  shall 
we  have  a  National  bank  ?'  He  answers,  'Your  will,  gentle- 
men, not  mine.'  '  "What  about  the  tariff  ?'  '  Say  yourselves.' 
*  Shall  our  rivers  and  harbors  be  improved  ?'  '  Just  as  you 
please.'  '  If  you  desire  a  bank,  an  alteration  of  the  tariff,  in- 
ternal improvements,  any  or  all,  I  will  not  hinder  you  ;  if  you 
do  not  desire  them,  I  will  not  attempt  to  force  them  on  you. 
Send  up  your  members  of  Congress  from  the  various  dis- 
tricts, with  opinions  according  to  your  own,  and  if  they  are 
for  these  measures,  or  any  of  them,  I  shall  have  nothing  to 
oppose  ;  if  they  are  not  for  them,  I  shall  not,  by  any  appli- 
ances whatever,  attempt  to  dragoon  them  into  their  adoption.' 
Now,  can  there  be  any  difficulty  in  understanding  this  ?  To 
you,  Democrats,  it  may  not  seem  like  principle ;  but  surely 
you  can  not  fail  to  perceive  the  position  plain  enough.  The 
distinction  between  it  and  the  position  of  your  candidate  is 
broad  and  obvious,  and  I  admit  you  have  a  clear  right  to  show 
it  is  wrong,  if  you  can  ;  but  you  have  no  right  to  pretend  you 
can  not  see  it  at  all.  We  see  it,  and  to  us  it  appears  like 
principle,  and  the  best  sort  of  principle  at  that — the  principle 
of  allowing  the  people  to  do  as  they  please  with  their  own 
business.  My  friend  from  Indiana  (Mr.  C.  B.  Smith)  has 
aptly  asked,  'Are  you  willing  to  trust  the  people  ?'  Some  of 
you  answered,  substantially,  '  We  are  willing  to  trust  the 
people  ;  but  the  President  is  as  much  the  representative  of 
the  people  as  Congress.'  In  a  certain  sense,  and  to  a  certain 
fcitent,  he  is  the  representative  of  the  people.     He  is  elected 


APPENDIX.  421 


Speech  in  Congress.  The  Presidency  and  General  Politics. 

by  them,  as  well  as  Congress  is.  But  can  he,  in  the  nature 
of  things,  know  the  wants  of  the  people  as  well  as  three  hun- 
dred other  men  coming  from  all  the  various  localities  of  the 
Nation  ?  If  so,  where  is  the  propriety  of  having  a  Congress  ? 
That  the  Constitution  gives  the  President  a  negative  on 
legislation,  all  know ;  but  that  this  negative  should  be  so 
combined  with  platforms  and  other  appliances  as  to  enable 
him,  and,  in  fact,  almost  compel  him,  to  take  the  whole  of  leg- 
islation into  his  own  hands,  is  what  we  object  to — is  what  Gen- 
eral Taylor  objects  to — and  is  what  constitutes  the  broad  dis- 
tinction between  you  and  us.  To  thus  transfer  legislation  is 
clearly  to  take  it  from  those  who  understand  with  minuteness 
the  interests  of  the  people,  and  give  it  to  one  who  does  not 
and  can  not  so  well  understand  it.  I  understand  your  idea^ 
that  if  a  Presidential  candidate  avow  his  opinion  upon  a 
given  question,  or  rather  upon  all  questions,  and  the  people, 
with  full  knoAvledge  of  this,  elect  him,  they  thereby  distinctly 
approve  all  those  opinions.  This,  though  plausible,  is  a  most 
pernicious  deception.  By  means  of  it  measures  are  adopted 
or  rejected,  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  the  whole  of  one  party, 
and  often  nearly  half  of  the  other.  The  process  is  this : 
Three,  four,  or  half  a  dozen  questions  are  prominent  at  a 
given  time;  the  party  selects  its  candidate,  and  bo  takes  his 
position  on  each  of  these  questions.  On  all  but  one  his  posi- 
tions have  already  been  indorsed  at  former  elections,  and  his 
party  fully  committed  to  them ;  but  that  one  is  new,  and  a 
large  portion  of  them  are  against  it.  But  what  are  they  to  do  ? 
The  whole  are  strung  together,  and  they  must  take  all  or 
reject  all.  They  can  not  take  what  they  like  and  leave  the 
rest.  What  they  are  already  committed  to,  being  the  ma 
jority,  they  shut  their  eyes  and  gulp  the  whole.  Next  elec- 
tion, still  another  is  introduced  in  the  same  way.  If  we  run 
our  eyes  along  the  line  of  the  past,  we  shall  see  that  almost, 
if  not  quite,  all  the  articles  of  the  present  Democratic  creed 
have  been  at  first  forced  upon  the  party  in  this  very  way. 


422  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Speech  in  Congress.  On  the  Presidency. 

And  just  DOW,  and  just  so,  opposition  to  internal  improve- 
ments is  to   be   established   if  Gen.  Cass  shall  be  elected. 
Almost  half  the  Democrats  here  are  for  improvements,  but 
they  will  vote  for  Cass,  and  if  he  succeeds,  their  votes  will 
have  aided  in  closing  the  doors  against  improvements.     Now, 
this  is  a  process  which  we  think  is  wrong.     We  prefer  a  can- 
didate who,  like  Gen.  Taylor,  will  allow  the  people  to  have 
their  own  way  regardless  of  his  private  opinion  ;  and  I  should 
think  the  internal-improvement  Democrats  at  least,  ought  to 
prefer  such  a  candidate.     He  would  force  nothing  on  them 
which  they  don't  want,  and  he  would  allow  them  to  have 
improvements,  which  their  own  candidate,  if  elected,  will  not. 
"  Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  said  Gen.  Taylor's  position  is  as  well 
defined  as  is  that  of  Gen.   Cass.     In    saying  this,  I  admit 
I  do  not  certainly  know  what  he  would  do  on  the  Wilmot 
proviso.     I  am  a  Northern  man,  or,  rather,  a  Western  free 
State  man,  with  a  constituency  I  believe  to  be,  and  with  per- 
sonal feelings  I  know  to  be,  against  the  extension  of  slavery. 
As  such,  and  with  what  information  I  have,  I  hope,  and  be- 
lieve, Gen.  Taylor,  if  elected,  would  not  veto  the  proviso  ;  but 
I   do  not  know  it.     Yet,  if  I  knew  he  would,  I  still  would 
vote  for  him.     I  should  do  so,  because,  in  my  judgment,  his 
election  alone    can  defeat  Gen.   Cass ;    and  because,  should 
slavery  thereby  go    into    the    territory  we    now  have,  just 
so  much  will  certainly  happen  by  the  election  of  Cass;  and, 
in  addition,  a  course    of  policy  leading   to   new  wars,  new 
acquisitions   of    territory,    and    still    further   extensions    of 
slavery.     One  of  the  two  is  to  be  President ;  which  is  pre- 
ferable ? 

"  But  there  is  as  much   doubt  of  Cass  on  improvements 
as  there  is  of  Taylor  on  the  proviso.     I  have  no  doubt  my 
self  of  Gen.  Cass  on  this  question,  but  I  know  the  Democrats 
differ  among  themselves  as  to  bis  position.     My  internal  im 
provement  colleague  (Mr.  Wentworth)  stated  on  this  floor 
the  other  day,  that  he  was  satisfied  Cass  was  for  improve- 


APPENDIX.  423 


Speocli  in  Congress.  The  Presidency 

merits,  because  he  had  voted  for  all  the  bills  that  he  (Mr. 
W  )  had.  So  far  so  good.  But  Mr.  Polk  vetoed  some  of 
these  very  bills ;  the  Baltimore  Convention  passed  a  set  of 
resolutions,  among  other  things,  approving  these  vetoes,  and 
Cass  declares,  in  his  letter  accepting  the  nomination,  that 
he  has  carefully  read  these  resolutions,  and  that  he  adheres 
to  them  as  firmly  as  he  approves  them  cordially.  In  other 
words,  Gen.  Cass  voted  for  the  bills,  and  thinks  the  President 
did  right  to  veto  them  ;  and  his  friends  here  are  amiable 
enough  to  consider  him  as  being  on  one  side  or  the  other, 
just  as  one  or  the  other  may  correspond  with  their  own  re- 
spective inclinations.  My  colleague  admits  that  the  platform 
declares  against  the  Constitutionality  of  a  general  system  of 
improvement,  and  that  Gen.  Cass  indorses  the  platform  ;  but 
he  still  thinks  Gen.  Cass  is  in  favor  of  some  sort  of  improve- 
ments. Well,  what  are  they  ?  As  he  is  against  general 
objects,  those  he  is /or,  must  he  particular  and  local.  Now, 
this  is  taking  the  subject  precisely  by  the  wrong  end.  Par- 
ticularity— expending  the  money  of  the  whole  people  for  an 
object  which  will  benefit  only  a  portion  of  them,  is  the 
greatest  real  objection  to  improvements,  and  has  been  so  held 
by  Gen.  Jackson,  Mr.  Polk,  and  all  others,  I  believe,  till  now. 
But  now,  behold,  the  objects  most  general,  nearest  free  from 
this  objection,  are  to  be  rejected,  while  those  most  liable  to  it 
are  to  be  embraced.  To  return  :  I  can  not  help  believing 
that  Gen.  Cass,  when  he  wrote  his  letter  of  acceptance,  well 
understood  he  was  to  be  claimed  by  the  advocates  of  both 
sides  of  this  question,  and  that  he  then  closed  the  door 
against  all  further  expressions  of  opinion,  purposely  to  retain 
the  benefits  of  that  double  position.  Ilis  subsequent  equivo- 
cation at  Cleveland,  to  my  mind,  proves  such  to  have  been 
the  case. 

"  One  word  more,  and  I  shall  have  done  with  this  branch 
of  the  subject.  You  Democrats,  and  your  candidate,  in  the 
main  are  in  favor  of  laying  down,  in  advance,  a  platform — i\ 


•124  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LTNCOLN". 

Speech  in  Congress.  The  Presidency.  The  Republican  Position 

set  of  party  positions,  as  a  unit ;  and  then  of  enforcing  the 
people,  by  every  sort  of  appliance,  to  ratify  them,  however 
unpalatable  some  of  them  may  be.  We,  and  our  candidate, 
are  in  favor  of  making  Presidential  elections  and  the  legisla- 
tion of  the  country  distinct  matters ;  so  that  the  people  can 
elect  whom  they  please,  and  afterward  legislate  just  as  they 
please,  without  any  hindrance,  save  only  so  much  as  may 
guard  against  infractions  of  the  Constitution,  undue  haste, 
and  want  of  consideration.  The  difference  between  us  is 
clear  as  noonday.  That  we  are  right  we  can  not  doubt. 
We  hold  the  true  Republican  position.  In  leaving  the 
people's  business  in  their  hands  we  can  not  be  wrong.  We 
are  willing,  and  even  anxious,  to  go  to  the  people  on  this 
issue. 

"  But  I  suppose  I  can  not  reasonably  hope  to  convince  you 
that  we  have  any  principles.  The  most  I  can  expect  is,  to 
assure  you  that  we  think  we  have,  and  are  quite  contented 
with  them.  The  other  day,  one  of  the  gentlemen  from 
Georgia  (Mr.  Iverson),  an  eloquent  man,  and  a  man  of 
learning,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  not  being  learned  myself, 
came  down  upon  us  astonishingly.  He  spoke  in  what  the 
Baltimore  American  calls  the  'scathing  and  withering  style.' 
At  the  end  of  his  second  severe  flash  I  was  struck  blind,  and 
found  myself  feeling  with  my  fingers  for  an  assurance  of  my 
continued  ph^-sical  existence.  A  little  of  the  bone  was  left, 
and  I  gradually  revived.  He  eulogized  Mr.  Clay  in  high 
and  beautiful  terms,  and  then  declared  that  we  had  deserted 
all  our  principles,  and  had  turned  Henry  Clay  out,  like  an 
old  horse,  to  root.  This  is  terribly  severe.  It  can  not  be 
answered  by  argument ;  at  least,  I  can  not  so  answer  it.  I 
merely  wish  to  ask  the  gentleman  if  the  Whigs  are  the  only 
])arty  he  can  think  of,  who  sometimes  turn  old  horses  out  to 
root  ?  Is  not  a  certain  Martin  Yan  Buren  an  old  horse 
which  your  own  party  have  turned  out  to  root  ?  and  is  he  not 
rooting  a  little  to  your  discomfort  about  now  ?    But  in  not 


APPENDIX.  42L3 


speech  in  Congress.  Tin;  I'li'^^i.lriicy. 

nominating  Mr.  Clay,  we  deserted  our  principles,  you  say. 
Ah  !  in  what  ?  Tell  us,  ye  men  of  principles  what  principle 
we  violated  ?  "We  say  you  did  violate  principle  in  discarding 
Van  Buren,  and  we  can  tell  you  how.  You  violated  the 
primary,  the  cardinal,  the  one  great  living  principle  of  all 
Democratic  representative  government — the  principle  that 
the  representative  is  bound  to  carry  out  the  known  will  of  his 
constituents.  A  large  majority  of  the  Baltimore  Convention 
of  1844  were,  by  their  constituents,  instructed  to  procure 
Yan  Burea's  nomination  if  they  could.  In  violation,  in 
utter,  glaring  contempt  of  this,  you  rejected  him — rejected 
him,  as  the  gentlemen  from  New  York  (Mr.  Birdsall),  the 
other  day  expressly  admitted,  for  availability — that  same 
'  general  availability'  which  you  charge  upon  us,  and  daily 
chew  over  here,  as  something  exceedingly  odious  and  unprin- 
cipled. But  the  gentleman  from  Georgia  (Mr.  Iverson), 
gave  us  a  second  speech  yesterday,  all  well  considered  and 
put  down  ia  writing,  in  which  Yan  Buren  was  scathed  and 
withered  a  '  few'  for  his  present  position  and  movements.  I 
can  not  remember  the  gentlemen's  precise  language,  but  I  do 
remember  he  put  Yan  Buren  down,  down,  till  he  got  him 
where  he  was  finally  to  'stink'  and  '  rot.' 

"Mr.  Speaker,  it  is  no  business  or  inclination  of  mine  to 
defend  Martin  Yan  Buren.  In  the  war  of  extermination  now 
waging  between  him  and  his  old  admirers,  I  say,  devil  take 
the  hindmost — and  the  foremost.  But  there  is  no  mistaking 
the  origin  of  the  breach  ;  and  if  the  curse  of  '  stinking'  and 
'  rotting'  is  to  fall  on  the  first  and  greatest  violaters  of  princi- 
ple in  the  matter,  I  disinterestedly  suggest,  that  the  gentle- 
man from  Georgia  and  his  present  co-workers  are  bound  to 
take  it  upon  themselves." 

Mr.  Lincoln  then  proceeded  to  speak  of  the  objections 
against  Gen.  Taylor  as  a  mere  military  hero  ;  retorting  with 
effect,  by  citing  the  attempt  to  make  out  a  military  record  for 
Gen.  Cass ;  and  referring,  in  a  bantering  way,  to  his  own  ser- 


426  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN'. 

Speech  in  Congress.  The  Presidency. 

vices  in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  as  already  quoted.     He  then 
said : 

"While  I  have  Gen.  Cass  in  hand,  I  wish  to  say  a  word 
about  his  political  principles.  As  a  specimen,  I  take  the  re- 
cord of  his  progress  on  the  Wilmot  Proviso.  In  the  Wash- 
ington Union,  of  March  2, 1847,  there  is  a  report  of  the  speech 
of  Gen.  Cass,  made  the  day  before  in  the  Senate,  on  the 
Wilmot  Proviso,  during  the  delivery  of  which,  Mr.  Miller,  of 
New  Jersey,  is  reported  to  have  interrupted  him  as  follows, 
to  wit : 

" '  Mr.  Miller  expressed  his  great  surprise  at  the  change  in 
the  sentiments  of  the  Senator  from  Michigan,  who  had  been 
regarded  as  the  great  champion  of  freedom  in  the  North-west 
of  which  he  was  a  distinguished  ornament.  Last  year  the 
Senator  from  Michigan  was  understood  to  be  decidedly  in 
favor  of  the  Wilmot  Proviso  ;  and,  as  no  reason  had  been 
stated  for  the  change,  he  (Mr.  Miller)  could  not  refrain  from 
the  expression  of  his  extreme  sarprise.' 

"  To  this  Gen.  Cass  is  reported  to  have  replied  as  follows, 
to  wit : 

"  Mr.  Cass  said,  that  the  course  of  the  Senator  from  New 
Jersey  was  most  extraordinary.  Last  year  he  (Mr.  Cass) 
should  have  voted  for  the  proposition  had  it  come  up.  But 
circumstances  had  altogether  changed.  The  honorable  Sena- 
tor then  read  several  passages  from  the  remai'ks  as  given 
above,  which  he  had  committed  to  writing,  in  order  to  refute 
such  a  charge  as  that  of  the  Senator  fi-om  New  Jersey.' 

"  In  the  '  remarks  above  committed  to  writing,'  is  one  num- 
bered 4,  as  follows,  to  wit : 

"  '  4th.  Legislation  would  now  be  wholly  imperative,  be- 
cause no  territory  hereafter  to  be  acquired  can  be  governed 
without  an  act  of  Congress  providing  for  its  government. 
And  such  an  act,  on  its  passage,  would  open  the  whole  sub- 
ject, and  leave  the   Congress,  called  on  to  pass  it,  free  to 


APPENDIX.  427 


Speech  in  Congress.  The  Presidency.  General  Casa. 

exercise   its   own   discretion,  entirely   uncontrolled   by   any 
declaration  found  in  the  statute  book.' 

"In  Niles'  Register,  vol.  13,  page  293,  there  is  a  letter  of 
General  Cass  to  A.  0.  P.  Nicholson,  of  Nashville,  Tennessee 
dated  December  24,  184T,  from  which  the  following  are  cor 
rect  extracts  : 

"  '  The  Wilmot  Proviso  has  been  before  the  country  some 
time.  It  has  been  repeatedly  discussed  in  Congress,  and  by 
the  public  press.  I  am  strongly  impressed  with  the  opinion 
that  a  great  change  has  been  going  on  in  the  public  mind 
upon  this  subject — in  my  own  as  well  as  others ;  and  that 
doubts  are  resolving  themselves  into  convictions,  that  the 
principle  it  involves  should  be  kept  out  of  the  National  Legis- 
lature, and  left  to  the  people  of  the  Confederacy  in  their 
respective  local  Governments. 

•' '  Briefly,  then,  I  am  opposed  to  the  exercise  of  any  juris- 
diction by  Congress  over  this  matter ;  and  I  am  in  favor  of 
leaving  the  people  of  any  territory  which  may  be  hereafter 
acquired,  the  right  to  regulate  it  themselves,  under  the 
general  principles  of  the  Constitution.     Because, 

'"1.  I  do  not  see  in  the  Constitution  any  grant  of  the 
requisite  power  to  Congress ;  and  I  am  not  disposed  to 
extend  a  doubtful  precedent  beyond  its  necessity — the  estab- 
lishment of  territorial  governments  when  needed — leaving  to 
the  inhabitants  all  the  rights  compatible  with  the  relations 
they  bear  to  the  Confederation.' 

"These  extracts  show  that,  in  1846,  General  Cass  was  for 
the  Proviso  at  once  ;  that,  in  March,  1847,  he  was  still  for  it, 
hut  not  just  then  ;  and  that  in  December,  184Y,  he  was  against 
it  altogether.  This  is  a  true  index  to  the  whole  man.  When 
the  question  was  raised  in  1846,  he  was  in  a  blustering  hurry 
to  take  ground  for  it.  lie  sought  to  be  in  advance,  and  to 
avoid  the  uninteresting  position  of  a  mere  follower,-  but  soor 
he  began  to  see  glimpses  of  the  great  Democratic  ox-gad  wav- 
ing in  his  face,  and  to  hear  indistinctly,  a  voice  saying, '  back,' 


428  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLISr. 

Speech  in  Congress.  The  Presidoucy.  GLiieral  Cass. 

'back,  sir,'  'back  a  little.'  He  shakes  his  head  and  bats  his 
eyes,  aud  blunders  back  to  his  position  of  March,  1841 ;  but 
still  the  gad  waves,  and  the  voice  grows  more  distinct,  and 
sharper  still — '  back,  sir  !'  '  back,  I  say  !'  '  further  back  1'  and 
back  he  goes  to  the  position  of  December,  1841 ;  at  w-hich 
the  gad  is  still,  and  the  voice  soothingly  says — '  So  I'  '  Stand 
still  at  that' 

"  Have  no  fears,  gentlemen,  of  your  candidate  ;  he  exactly 
suits  you,  and  we  congratulate  you  upon  it.  However  much 
you  may  be  distressed  about  our  candidate,  you  have  all 
cause  to  be  contented  and  happy  with  your  own.  If  elected, 
he  may  not  maintain  all,  or  even  any  of  his  positions  pre- 
viously taken  ;  but  he  will  be  sure  to  do  whatever  the  party 
exigency,  for  the  time  being,  may  require ;  and  that  is  pre- 
cisely what  you  want.  He  and  Van  Buren  are  the  same 
'  manner  of  men  ;'  and  like  Van  Buren,  he  will  never  desert 
you  till  you  first  desert  him.^' 

After  referring  at  some  length  to  extra  "  charges"  of  General 
Cass  upon  the  Treasury,  Mr.  Lincoln  continued  : — 

"But  I  have  introduced  General  Cass's  accounts  here, 
chieily  to  show  the  wonderful  physical  capacities  of  the  man. 
They  show  that  he  not  only  did  the  labor  of  several  men  at 
the  sa.rQe  time,  but  that  he  often  did  it,  at  several  places  many 
hundred  miles  apart,  at  the  same  time.  And  at  eating,  too, 
his  capacities  ate  shown  to  be  quite  as  wonderful.  From 
October,  1821,  to  May,  1822,  he  ate  ten  rations  a  day  in 
Michigan,  ten  rations  a  day  here,  in  Washington,  and  nearly 
five  dollar's  worth  a  day  besides,  partly  on  the  road  between 
the  two  places.  And  then  there  is  an  important  discovery  in 
his  example — the  art  of  being  paid  for  what  one  eats,  instead 
of  having  to  pay  for  it.  Hereafter,  if  any  nice  young  man 
shall  owe  a  bill  which  he  can  not  pay  in  any  other  way,  he 
can  just  board  it  out,     Mr.  Speaker,  we  have  all  heard  of  the 


APPENDIX.  429 


Speech  iu  Congress.  The  Presidencj'.  Mexican  War. 

animal  standing  in  doubt  between  two  stacks  of  hay,  and 
starving  to  death ;  the  like  of  that  would  never  happen  to 
General  Cass.  Place  the  stacks  a  thousand  miles  apart,  he 
would  stand  stock-still,  midway  between  them,  and  eat  them 
both  at  once  ;  and  the  green  grass  along  the  line  would  be 
apt  to  suffer  some  too.,  at  the  same  time.  By  all  means 
make  him  President,  gentlemen.  He  will  feed  you  boun- 
teously— if  if — there  is  any  left  after  he  shall  have  helped 
himself 

"But  as  General  Taylor,  is,  par  excellence,  the  hero  of  the 
Mexican  war ;  and,  as  you  Democrats  say  we  Whigs  have 
always  opposed  the  war,  you  think  it  must  be  very  awkward 
and  embarrassing  for  us  to  go  for  General  Taylor.  The 
declaration  that  we  have  always  opposed  the  war,  is  true  or 
false  accordingly  as  one  may  understand  the  term  '  opposing 
the  war.'  If  to  say  'the  war  was  unnecessarily  and  uncon- 
stitutionally commenced  by  the  President,'  be  opposing  the 
war,  then  the  Whigs  have  very  generally  opposed  it.  When- 
ever they  have  spoken  at  all,  they  have  said  this  ;  and  they 
have  said  it  on  what  has  appeared  good  reason  to  them  : 
The  marching  an  army  into  the  midst  of  a  peaceful  Mexican 
settlement,  frightening  the  inhabitants  away,  leaving  their 
growing  crops  and  other  property  to  destruction,  to  you  may 
appear  a  perfectly  amiable,  peaceful,  unprovoking  procedure  ; 
but  it  does  not  appear  so  to  us.  So  to  call  such  an  act,  to 
us  appears  no  other  than  a  naked,  impudent  absurdity,  and 
we  speak  of  it  accordingly.  But  if,  when  the  war  had  begun, 
and  had  become  the  cause  of  the  country,  the  giving  of  our 
money  and  our  blood,  in  common  with  yours,  was  support  of 
the  war,  then  it  is  not  true  that  we  have  always  opposed  the 
war.  With  few  individual  exceptions,  you  have  constantly 
had  our  votes  here  for  all  the  necessary  supplies.  And,  more 
than  this,  you  have  had  the  services,  the  blood,  and  the  lives 
of  our  political  brethren  in  every  trial,  and  on  every  field 
The  beardless  boy  and  the  mature  man — the  humble  and  the 


4o0  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Speech  in  Cougioss.  The  Presidency.  Mexican  War. 

distinguished,  you  have  had  them.  Through  suffering  and 
death,  by  disease  and  in  battle,  they  have  endured,  and  fought, 
and  fallen  with  you.  Clay  and  Webster  each  gave  a  son, 
never  to  be  returned.  From  the  State  of  my  own  residence, 
besides  other  worthy  but  less  known  Whig  names,  we  sent 
Marshall,  Morrison,  Baker,  and  Hardin  ;  they  all  fought,  and 
one  fell,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  one,  we  lost  our  best  Whig 
man.  Nor  were  the  Whigs  few  in  number,  or  laggard  in  the 
day  of  danger.  In  that  fearful,  blood}^,  breathless  struggle  at 
lUiena  Yista,  where  each  man's  hard  task  was  to  beat  back 
five  foes,  or  die  himself,  of  the  five  high  officers  who  perished, 
four  were  Whigs. 

"  In  speaking  of  this,  I  mean  no  odious  comparison  between 
the  lion-hearted  Whigs  and  Democrats  who  fought  there. 
On  other  occasions,  and  among  the  lower  officers  and  privates 
on  that  occasion,  I  doubt  not  the  proportion  was  different.  I 
wish  to  do  justice  to  all.  I  think  of  all  those  brave  men  as 
Americans,  in  whose  proud  fame,  as  an  American,  I  too  have 
a  share.  Many  of  them,  Whigs  and  Democrats,  are  my  con- 
stituents and  personal  friends  ;  and  I  thank  them — more  than 
thank  them — one  and  all,  for  the  high,  imperishable  honor 
they  have  conferred  on  our  common  State, 

"  But  the  distinction  between  the  cause  of  the  President  in 
beginning  the  war,  and  the  cause  of  the  country  after  it  was 
begun,  is  a  distinction  which  you  can  not  perceive.  To  you, 
the  President  and  the  country  seem  to  be  all  one.  You  are 
interested  to  see  no  distinction  between  them  ;  and  I  venture 
to  suggest  that  possibly  your  interest  blinds  you  a  little. 
We  see  the  distinction,  as  we  think,  clearly  enough ;  and  our 
friends,  who  have  fought  in  the  war,  have  no  difficulty  in  see- 
ing it  also.  What  those  who  have  fallen  would  say,  were 
they  alive  and  here,  of  course  we  can  never  know  ;  but  with 
those  who  have  returned  there  is  no  difficulty.  Colonel  Has- 
kell and  Major  Gaines,  members  here,  both  fought  in  the 
war;  and  one  of  them  underwent  extraordinary  perils  and 


APPENDIX.  431 


Speech  in  Congi-ess.  Speech  at  Springfield,  111. 

hardships  ;  still  they,  like  all  other  Whigs  here,  vote  on  the 
record  that  the  war  was  unnecessarily  and  unconstitutionally 
commenced  by  the  President.  And  even  General  Taylor  him- 
self, the  noblest  Roman  of  them  all,  has  declared  that,  as  a 
citizen,  and  particularly  as  a  soldier,  it  is  sufficient  for  him  to 
know  that  his  country  is  at  war  with  a  foreign  nation,  to  do 
all  in  his  power  to  bring  it  to  a  speedy  and  honorable  termi- 
nation, by  the  most  vigorous  and  energetic  operations,  with- 
out inquiring  about  its  justice,  or  any  thing  else  connected 
with  it. 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  let  our  Democratic  friends  be  comforted  with 
the  assurance  that  we  are  content  with  our  position,  content 
with  our  company,  and  content  with  our  candidate  ;  and  that 
although  they,  in  their  generous  sympathy,  think  we  ought  to 
be  miserable,  we  really  are  not,  and  that  they  may  dismiss  the 
great  anxiety  they  have  on  our  account." 


SPEECH  IN  REPLY  TO  MR.  DOUGLAS,  ON  KANSAS,  THE  DRED 
SCOTT  DECISION,  AND  THE  UTAH  QUESTION. 

{Delivered  at  Springfield,  III.,  June  26,  185*1.) 

"  Fellow-Citizens  : — I  am  here,  to-night,  partly  by  the 
invitation  of  some  of  you,  and  partly  by  my  own  inclination. 
Two  weeks  ago  Judge  Douglas  spoke  here,  on  the  several 
subjects  of  Kansas,  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  and  Utah.  I 
listened  to  the  speech  at  the  time,  and  have  read  the  report 
of  it  since.  It  was  intended  to  controvert  opinions  which  I 
hink  just,  and  to  assail  (politically,  not  personally)  those 
men  who,  in  common  with  me,  entertain  those  opinions.  For 
this  reason  I  wished  then,  and  still  wish  to  make  some  an- 
swer to  it,  which  I  now  take  the  opportunity  of  doing. 

"  I  begin  with  Utah.  If  it  prove  to  be  true,  as  is  probable, 
that  the  people  of  Utah  are  in  open  rebellion  against  the 
United  States,  then  Judge  Douglas  is  in  favor  of  repealing 


4-32  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLX. 

Speech  at  :>piiiij,'tield.  Reply  to  Judge  Douglas.  Kansas. 

their  territorial  organization,  and  attaching  them  to  the  ad- 
joining States  for  judicial  purposes.  I  say,  too,  if  they  are 
in  rebellion,  they  ought  to  be  somehow  coerced  to  obedience  ; 
and  I  am  not  now  prepared  to  admit  or  deny,  that  the 
Judge's  mode  of  coercing  them  is  not  as  good  as  any.  The 
Republicans  can  fall  in  with  it,  without  taking  back  any  thing 
thev  have  ever  said.  To  be  sure,  it  would  be  a  considerable 
backing  down  by  Judge  Douglas,  from  his  much  vaunted 
doctrine  of  self-government  for  the  territories  ;  but  this  is  only 
additional  proof  of  what  was  very  plain  from  the  beginning, 
that  that  doctrine  was  a  mere  deceitful  pretence  for  the  benefit 
of  slavery.  Those  who  could  not  see  that  much  in  the 
Nebraska  act  itself,  which  forced  Governors,  and  Secretaries, 
and  Judges  on  the  people  of  the  territories,  without  their 
choice  or  consent,  could  not  be  made  to  see,  though  one 
should  rise  from  the  dead. 

"  But  in  all  this,  it  is  very  plain  the  Judge  evades  the  only 
question  the  Republicans  have  ever  pressed  upon  the  Democ- 
racy in  regard  to  Utah.  That  question  the  Judge  well  knew 
to  be  this  :  '  If  the  people  of  Utah  shall  peacefully  form  a 
State  Constitution  tolerating  polygamy,  will  the  Democracy 
admit  them  into  the  Union  V  There  is  nothing  in  the  United 
States  Constitution  or  law  against  polygamy  ;  and  why  is  it 
not  a  part  of  the  Judge's  '  sacred  right  of  self-government' 
for  the  people  to  have  it,  or  rather  to  keep  it,  if  they  choose  ? 
These  questions,  so  far  as  I  know,  the  Judge  never  answers. 
It  might  involve  the  Democracy  to  answer  them  either  way, 
and  they  go  unanswered. 

"As  to  Kansas.  The  substance  of  the  Judge's  speech  on 
Kansas,  is  an  effort  to  put  the  Free  State  men  in  the  wrong 
for  not  voting  at  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  Constitutional 
Convention.  He  says  :  '  There  is  every  reason  to  hope  and 
believe  that  the  law  will  be  fairly  interpreted  and  impartially 
executed,  so  as  to  insure  to  every  bona  fide  inhabitant  the 
free  and  quiet  exercise  of  the  elective  franchise.' 


APPENDIX.  433 


Speech  at  Springfield.  Reply  to  Judge  Douglaa.  Kansas  Elections. 

"  It  appears  extraordinary  that  Judge  Douglas  should 
make  such  a  statement.  He  knows  that,  by  the  law,  no  one 
can  vote  who  has  not  been  registered  ;  and  he  knows  that  the 
Free  State  men  place  their  refusal  to  vote  on  the  ground  that 
but  few  of  them  have  been  registered.  It  is  possible  this  is 
not  true,  but  Judge  Douglas  knows  it  is  asserted  to  be  true 
in  letters,  newspapers,  and  public  speeches,  and  borne  by 
every  mail,  and  blown  by  every  breeze  to  the  eyes  and  ears 
of  the  world.  He  knows  it  is  boldly  declared,  that  the  peo- 
ple of  many  whole  counties,  and  many  whole  neighborhoods 
in  others,  are  left  unregistered  ;  yet  he  does  not  venture  to 
contradict  the  declaration,  or  to  point  out  how  they  can  vote 
without  being  registered  ;  but  he  just  slips  along,  not  seem- 
ing to  know  there  is  any  such  question  of  fact,  and  compla- 
cently declares,  '  There  is  every  reason  to  hope  and  believe 
that  the  law  will  be  fairly  and  impartially  executed,  so  as  to 
insure  to  every  bona  fide  inhabitant  the  free  and  quiet  exer- 
cise of  the  elective  franchise.' 

"  I  readily  agree  that  if  all  had  a  chance  to  vote,  they 
ought  to  have  voted.  If,  on  the  contrary,  as  they  allege,  and 
Judge  Douglas  ventures  not  particularly  to  contradict,  few 
only  of  the  Free  State  men  had  a  chance  to  vote,  they  were 
perfectly  right  in  staying  from  the  polls  in  a  body. 

"  By  the  way,  since  the  Judge  spoke,  the  Kansas  election 
has  come  off.  The  Judge  expressed  his  confidence  that  all 
the  Democrats  in  Kansas  would  do  their  duty — including 
'  Free  State  Democrats'  of  course.  The  returns  received 
here,  as  yet,  are  very  incomplete  ;  but,  so  far  as  they  go,  they 
indicate  that  only  about  one-sixth  of  the  registered  voters, 
have  really  voted  ;  and  this,  too,  when  not  more,  perhaps, 
than  one-half  of  the  rightful  voters  have  been  registered,  thus 
showing  the  thing  to  have  been  altogether  the  most  exquisite 
farce  ever  enacted.  I  am  watching  with  considerable  inter- 
est, to  ascertain  what  figure  '  the  Free  State  Democrats'  cut 
in  the  concern.  Of  course  they  voted — all  Democrats  do  their 
28 


434  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Speech  at  Springfield.  Reply  to  Judge  Douglas.  Dred  Scott  Decision. 

duty — and  of  course  they  did  not  vote  for  Slave  State  candi- 
dates. We  soon  shall  know  how  many  delegates  they  elected, 
how  many  candidates  they  have  pledged  to  a  free  State,  and 
how  many  votes  were  cast  for  them. 

"Allow  me  to  barely  whisper  my  suspicion,  that  there 
were  no  such  things  in  Kansas  as  '  Free  State  Democrats' — 
that  they  were  altogether  mythical,  good  only  to  figure  in 
newspapers  and  speeches  in  the  free  States.  If  there  should 
prove  to  be  one  real,  living  free  State  Democrat  in  Kansas,  I 
suggest  that  it  might  be  well  to  catch  him,  and  stuff  and  pre- 
serve his  skin,  as  an  interesting  specimen  of  that  soon  to  be 
extinct  variety  of  the  genus  Democrat. 

"And  now,  as  to  the  Dred  Scott  decision.  That  decision 
declares  two  propositions — first,  that  a  negro  cannot  sue  in 
the  United  States  Courts  ;  and  secondly,  that  Congress  can 
not  prohibit  slavery  in  the  Territories.  It  was  made  by  a 
divided  court — dividing  differently  on  the  different  points. 
Judge  Douglas  does  not  discuss  the  merits  of  the  decision, 
and  in  that  respect,  I  shall  follow  his  example,  believing  I 
could  no  more  improve  upon  McLean  and  Curtis,  than  he 
could  on  Taney. 

"  He  denounces  all  who  question  the  correctness  of  that 
decision,  as  offering  violent  resistance  to  it.  But  wh.o  resists 
it  ?  Who  has,  in  spite  of  the  decision,  declared  Dred  Scott 
free,  and  resisted  the  authority  of  his  master  over  him  ? 

"  Judicial  decisions  have  two  uses — first,  to  absolutely  de- 
termine the  case  decided ;  and  secondly  to  indicate  to  the 
public  how  other  similar  cases  will  be  decided  when  they 
arise.  For  the  latter  use,  they  are  called  '  precedents'  and 
'  authorities.' 

"  We  believe  as  much  as  Judge  Douglas  (perhaps  more) 
in  obedience  to,  and  respect  for  the  judicial  department  of 
Government.     We  think  its  decisions  on  Constitutional  ques 
tions,  when  fully  settled,  should  control,  not  only  the  partic 
ular  cases  decided,  but  the  general  policy  of  the  country 


APPENDIX.  435 


Speech  at  Spriugfield.  Keply  to  Judge  Douglas.        Judicial  Decisions  Reviewed. 

subject  to  be  disturbed  only  by  amendments  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, as  provided  in  that  instrument  itself.  More  than  this 
would  be  revolution.  But  we  think  the  Dred  Scott  decision 
is  erroneous.  We  know  the  court  that  made  it  has  often 
overruled  its  own  decisions,  and  we  shall  do  what  we  can  to 
have  it  overrule  this.     We  offer  no  resistance  to  it. 

"  Judicial  decisions  are  of  greater  or  less  authority  as  pre- 
cedents, according  to  circumstances.  That  this  should  be  so, 
accords  both  with  common  sense,  and  the  customary  under- 
standing of  the  legal  profession. 

"  If  this  important  decision  had  been  made  by  the  unani- 
mous concurrence  of  the  judges,  and  without  any  apparent 
partisan  bias,  and  in  accordance  with  legal  public  expectation, 
and  with  the  steady  practice  of  the  departments,  throughout 
our  history,  and  had  been  in  no  part  based  on  assumed  his- 
torical facts  which  are  not  really  true  ;  or,  if  wanting  in  some 
of  these,  it  had  been  before  the  court  more  than  once,  and  had 
there  been  affirmed  and  re-affirmed  through  a  course  of  years, 
it  then  might  be,  perhaps  would  be,  factious,  nay,  even  revo- 
lutionary, not  to  acquiesce  in  it  as  a  precedent. 

"  But  when,  as  is  true,  we  find  it  wanting  in  all  these 
claims  to  the  public  confidence,  it  is  not  resistance,  it  is  not 
factious,  it  is  not  even  disrespectful,  to  treat  it  as  not  having 
yet  quite  established  a  settled  doctrine  for  the  country.  But 
Judge  Douglas  considers  this  view  awful.     Hear  him : 

"  '  The  courts  are  the  tribunals  prescribed  by  the  Constitu 
tion  and  created  by  the  authority  of  the  people  to  determine, 
expound,  and  enforce  the  law.  Hence,  whoever  resists  the 
final  decision  of  the  highest  judicial  tribunal,  aims  a  deadly 
blow  to  our  whole  Republican  system  of  government — a  blow 
which,  if  successful,  would  place  all  our  rights  and  liberties  at 
the  mercy  of  passion,  anarchy  and  violence.  I  repeat,  there 
fore,  that  if  resistance  to  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  in  a  matter  like  the  points  decided  in 
the  Dred  Scott  case,  clearly  within  their  jurisdiction  as  de 


436  LIFE    OF   ABEAHAM   LINCOLX. 

Speech  at  Springfield.  Reply  to  Judge  Douglas.  A  National  Bank. 

fined  by  the  Constitution,  shall  be  forced  upon  the  country 
as  a  political  issue,  it  will  become  a  distinct  and  naked  issue 
between  the  friends  and  enemies  of  the  Constitution — the 
friends  and  enemies  of  the  supremacy  of  the  laws.' 

"  Why,  this  same  Supreme  Court  once  decided  a  national 
bank  to  be  Constitutional ;  but  General  Jackson,  as  President 
of  the  United  States,  disregarded  the  decision,  and  vetoed  a 
bill  for  a  re-charter,  partly  on  Constitutional  ground,  declar- 
ing that  each  public  functionary  must  support  the  Constitu 
tion,  'as  he  understands  it.'  But  hear  the  General's  own 
words.     Here  they  are,  taken  from  his  veto  message : 

"  '  It  is  maintained  by  the  advocates  of  the  bank,  that  its 
Constitutionality,  in  all  its  features,  ought  to  be  considered  as 
settled  by  precedent,  and  by  the  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  To  this  conclusion  I  can  not  assent.  Mere  precedent 
is  a  dangerous  source  of  authority,  and  should  not  be  regarded 
as  deciding  questions  of  Constitutional  power,  except  where 
the  acquiescence  of  the  people  and  the  States  can  be  consid- 
ered as  well  settled.  So  far  from  this  being  the  case  on  this 
subject,  an  argument  against  the  bank  might  be  based  on 
precedent.  One  Congress,  in  1791,  decided  in  favor  of  a 
bank;  another,  in  1811,  decided  against  it.  One  Congress, 
in  1815,  decided  against  a  bank ;  another,  in  1816,  decided  in 
Its  favor.  Prior  to  the  present  Congress,  therefore,  the  pre- 
cedents drawn  from  that  source  were  equal  If  we  resort  to 
the  States,  the  expression  of  legislative,  judicial,  and  execu- 
tive opinions  against  the  bank  have  been  probably  to  those 
in  its  favor  as  four  to  one.  There  is  nothing  in  precedent, 
therefore,  which,  if  its  authority  were  admitted,  ought  to 
weigh  in  favor  of  the  act  before  me.' 

"  I  drop  the  quotations  merely  to  remark,  that  all  there  ever 
was,  in  the  way  of  precedent  up  to  the  Dred  Scott  decision, 
on  the  points  therein  decided,  had  been  against  that  decision. 
But  hear  General  Jackson  further  : 

" '  If  the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  covered  the  whole 


APPENDIX.  437 


Speech  at  Springfield.  Reply  to  Judge  Douglas.  The  Dred  Scott  Decision. 

ground  of  this  act,  it  ought  not  to  control  the  co-ordinate 
authorities  of  this  Government.  The  Congress,  the  Executive 
and  the  Court,  must  each  for  itself  be  guided  by  its  own 
opinion  of  the  Constitution.  Each  public  officer,  who  takes 
an  oath  to  support  the  Constitution,  swears  that  he  will  sup- 
port it  as  he  understands  it,  and  not  as  it  is  understood  by- 
others.' 

"Again  and  again  have  I  heard  Judge  Douglas  denounce 
that  bank  decision,  and  applaud  General  Jackson  for  disre- 
garding it.  It  would  be  interesting  for  him  to  look  over  his 
recent  speech,  and  see  how  exactly  his  fierce  philippics  against 
us  for  resisting  Supreme  Coui*t  decisions,  fall  upon  his  own 
head.  It  will  call  to  mind  a  long  and  fierce  political  war  in 
this  country,  upon  an  issue  which,  in  his  own  language,  and, 
of  course,  in  his  own  changeless  estimation,  was  '  a  distinct 
issue  between  the  friends  and  the  enemies  of  the  Constitu- 
tion,' and  in  which  war  he  fought  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemies 
of  the  Constitution. 

"  I  have  said,  in  substance,  that  the  Dred  Scott  decision  was, 
in  part,  based  on  assumed  historical  facts  which  were  not 
really  true,  and  I  ought  not  to  leave  the  subject  without 
giving  some  reasons  for  saying  this ;  I,  therefore,  give  an 
instance  or  two,  which  I  think  fully  sustain  me.  Chief  Jus- 
tice Taney,  in  delivering  the  opinion  of  the  majority  of  the 
Court,  insists  at  great  length,  that  negroes  were  no  part  of 
the  people  who  made,  or  for  whom  was  made,  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  or  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States. 

"  On  the  contrary,  Judge  Curtis,  in  his  dissenting  opinion, 
shows  that  in  five  of  the  then  thirteen  States,  to  wit :  New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and 
North  Carolina,  free  negroes  were  voters,  and,  in  proportion 
to  their  numbers,  had  the  same  part  in  making  the  Constitu- 
tion that  the  white  people  had.     He  shows  this  with  so  much 


438  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Speech  at  Springfield.  Reply  to  Judge  Douglas.  The  Black  Man's  Bondage. 

particularity  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  its  truth  ;  and  as  a  sort 
of  conclusion  on  that  point,  holds  the  following  language  : 

"  '  The  constitution  was  ordained  and  established  by  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  through  the  action,  in  each  State, 
of  those  persons  who  were  qualified  by  its  laws  to  act  thereon 
in  behalf  of  themselves  and  all  other  citizens  of  the  State. 
In  some  of  the  States,  as  we  have  seen,  colored  persons  were 
among  those  qualified  by  law  to  act  on  the  subject.  These 
colored  persons  were  not  only  included  in  the  body  of  '  the 
people  of  the  United  States,'  by  whom  the  Constitution  was 
ordained  and  established ;  but  in  at  least  five  of  the  States 
they  had  the  power  to  act,  and,  doubtless,  did  act,  by  their 
suffrages,  upon  the  question  of  its  adoption.' 

"Again,  Chief  Justice  Taney  says  :  '  It  is  difficult,  at  this 
day  to  realize  the  state  of  public  opinion  in  relation  to  that 
unfortunate  race,  which  prevailed  in  the  civilized  and  enlight- 
ened portions  of  the  world  at  the  time  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  and  when  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  was  framed  and  adopted.'  And  again,  after  quoting 
from  the  Declaration,  he  says :  '  The  general  words  above 
quoted  would  seem  to  include  the  whole  human  family,  and 
if  they  were  used  in  a  similar  instrument  at  this  day,  would 
be  so  understood.' 

"  In  these  the  Chief  Justice  does  not  directly  assert,  but 
plainly  assumes,  as  a  fact,  that  the  public  estimate  of  the 
black  man  is  more  favorable  now  than  it  was  in  the  days  of 
the  Revolution.  This  assumption  is  a  mistake.  In  some 
trifling  particulars,  the  condition  of  that  riice  has  been  amelio- 
rated ;  but  as  a  whole,  in  this  country,  the  change  between 
then  and  now  is  decidedly  the  other  way  ;  and  their  ultimate 
destiny  has  never  appeared  so  hopeless  as  in  the  last  three  or 
four  years.  In  two  of  the  five  States — New  Jersey  and 
North  Carolina — that  then  gave  the  free  negro  the  right  of 
voting,  the  right  has  since  been  taken  away  ;  and  in  the  third 
— New  York — it  has  been  greatly  abridged  ;  while  it  has  not 


APPENDIX.  439 


speech  at  Springfield.  Reply  to  Judge  Douglas.  The  Black  Man's  Bondage. 

Deen  extended,  so  far  as  I  know,  to  a  single  additional  State, 
chough  the  number  of  the  States  has  more  than  doubled.  In 
i/hose  days,  as  I  understand,  masters  could,  at  their  own 
pleasure,  emancipate  their  slaves  ;  but  since  then  such  legal 
restraints  have  been  made  upon  emancipation  as  to  amount 
almost  to  prohibition.  In  those  days  '  Legislatures  held  the 
unquestioned  power  to  abolish  slavery  in  their  respective 
States;  but  now  it  is  becoming  quite  fashionable  for  State 
Constitutions  to  withold  that  power  from  the  Legislatures. 
In  those  days  by  common  consent,  the  spread  of  the  black 
man's  bondage  to  the  new  countries  was  prohibited  ;  but  now, 
Congress  decides  that  it  will  not  continue  the  prohibition — 
and  the  Supreme  Court  decides  that  it  could  not  if  it  would. 
In  those  days  our  Declaration  of  Independence  was  held 
sacred  by  all,  and  thought  to  include  all ;  but  now,  to  aid  in 
making  the  bondage  of  the  negro  univei'sal  and  eternal,  it  is 
assailed,  sneered  at,  construed,  hawked  at,  and  torn,  till,  if  its 
framers  could  rise  from  their  graves,  they  could  not  at  all 
recognize  it.  All  the  powers  of  earth  seem  rapidly  combin- 
ing against  him.  Mammon  is  after  him ;  ambition  follows, 
philosophy  follows,  and  the  theology  of  the  day  is  fast  join- 
ing the  cry.  They  have  him  in  his  prison-house  ;  they  have 
searched  his  person,  and  left  no  prying  instrument  with  him. 
One  after  another  they  have  closed  the  heavy  iron  doors  upon 
him ;  and  now  they  have  him,  as  it  were,  bolted  in  with  a 
lock  of  a  hundred  keys,  which  can  never  be  unlocked  without 
the  concurrence  of  every  key  ;  the  keys  in  the  hands  of  a  hun- 
dred different  men,  and  they  scattered  to  a  hundred  different 
and  distant  places ;  and  they  stand  musing  as  to  what  inven- 
tion, in  all  the  dominions  of  mind  and  matter,  can  be  pro- 
duced to  make  the  impossibility  of  his  escape  more  complete 
than  it  is. 

"  It  is  grossly  incorrect  to  say  or  assume,  that  the  public 
estimate  of  the  negro  is  more  favorable  now  than  it  was  at 
the  origin  of  the  Government 


i40  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN". 

speech  at  Springfield.  Reply  to  Judge  Douglas.  The  Nebraska  Bill 


"  Three  years  and  a  half  ago,  Judge  Douglas  brought  for- 
ward his  famous  Nebraska  bill.  The  country  was  at  once  in 
a  blaze.  He  scorned  all  opposition,  and  carried  it  through 
Congress.  Since  then  he  has  seen  himself  superseded  in  a 
Presidential  nomination,  by  one  indorsing  the  general  doc- 
trine of  his  measure,  but  at  the  same  time  standing  clear  of 
the  odium  of  its  untimely  agitation,  and  its  gross  breach  of 
national  faith  ;  and  he  has  seen  that  successful  rival  Consti- 
tutionally elected,  not  by  the  strength  of  friends,  but  by  the 
division  of  his  adversaries,  being  in  a  popular  minority  of 
nearly  four  hundred  thousand  votes.  He  has  seen  his  chief 
aids  in  his  own  State,  Shields  and  Richardson,  politely  speak- 
ing, successively  tried,  convicted,  and  executed,  for  an  offence 
not  their  own,  but  his.  And  now  he  sees  his  own  case, 
standing  next  on  the  docket  for  trial. 

"  There  is  a  natural  disgust,  in  the  minds  of  nearly  all  white 
people,  to  the  idea  of  an  indiscriminate  amalgamation  of  the 
white  and  black  races  ;  and  Judge  Douglas  evidently  is  basing 
his  chief  hope  upon  the  chances  of  his  being  able  to  appro- 
priate the  benefit  of  this  disgust  to  himself.     If  he  can,  by 
much  drumming  and  repeating,  fasten  the  odium  of  that  idea 
upon  his  adversaries,  he  thinks  he  can  struggle  through  the 
storm.     He,  therefore,  clings  to  this  hope,  as  a  drowning  man 
to  the  last  plank.     He  makes  an  occasion  for  lugging  it  in 
from  the  opposition  to  the  Dred  Scott  decision.     He  finds  the 
Republicans  insisting  that  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
includes  all  men,  black  as  well  as  white,  and  forthwith  he 
bcldly  denies  that  it  includes  negroes  at  all,  and  proceeds  to 
argue  gravely  that  all  who  contend  it  does  do  so  only  because 
they  want  to  vote,  eat  and  sleep,  and  marry  with  negroes 
He  will  have  it  that  they  can  not  be  consistent  else.     Now, 
I  protest  against  the  counterfeit  logic  which  concludes  that 
because  I  do  not  want  a  black  woman  for  a  slave  I  mus' 
necessarily  want  her  for  a  wife.     I  need  not  have  her  fo' 
either      I  can  just  leave  her  alone.     In  some  respects  sh 


APPENDIX.  441 


Speech  at  Springfield.  Rejily  to  Judge  Douglas.        The  Declaiatiou  of  Independence 

certainly  is  not  my  equal ;  but  in  her  natural  right  to  eat  the 
bread  she  earns  with  her  own  hands,  without  asking  leave  of 
any  one  else,  she  is  my  equal,  and  the  equal  of  all  others. 

"  Chief  Justice  Taney,  in  his  opinion  in  the  Dred  Scott  case, 
admits  that  the  language  of  the  Declaration  is  broad  enough 
to  include  the  whole  human  family  ;  but  he  and  Judge  Doug- 
las argue  that  the  authors  of  that  instrument  did  not  intend 
to  include  negroes,  by  the  fact  that  they  did  not  at  once  actu- 
ally place  them  on  an  equality  with  the  whites.  Now,  this 
grave  argument  comes  to  just  nothing  at  all,  by  the  other 
fact,  that  they  did  not  at  once,  or  ever  afterward,  actually 
place  all  white  people  on  an  equality  with  one  another.  And 
this  is  the  staple  argument  of  both  the  Chief  Justice  and  the 
Senator  for  doing  this  obvious  violence  to  the  plain,  unmis- 
takable language  of  the  Declaration. 

"  I  think  the  authors  of  that  notable  instrument  intended 
to  include  all  men,  but  they  did  not  intend  to  declare  all  men 
equal  in  all  respects.  They  did  not  mean  to  say  all  were 
equal  in  color,  size,  intellect,  moral  developments,  or  social 
capacity.  They  defined  with  tolerable  distinctness  in  what 
respects  they  did  consider  all  men  created  equal — equal  with 
'  certain  inalienable  rights,  among  which  are  life,  liberty,  and 
the  pursuit  of  happiness.'  This  they  said,  and  this  meant. 
They  did  not  mean  to  assert  the  obvious  untruth,  that  all 
were  then  actually  enjoying  that  equality,  nor  yet  that  they 
were  about  to  confer  it  immediately  upon  them.  In  fact, 
they  had  no  power  to  confer  such  a  boon.  They  meant 
simply  to  declare  the  right,  so  that  the  enforcement  of  it 
might  follow  as  fast  as  circumstances  should  permit. 


442  LIFS   OF   ABRAHAM    LIXCOLN. 

Speecli  at  Chicago.  Reply  to  Doughig. 

SPEECH  IN  REPLY  TO  SENATOR  DOUGLAS. 
(At  Chicago,  on  the  evening  of  July  10,  1858.) 

"  My  Fellow- Citizens  :  On  yesterday  evening,  upon  the 
occasion  of  the  reception  given  to  Senator  Douglas,  I  was 
furnished  with  a  seat  very  convenient  for  hearing  him,  and 
was  otherwise  very  courteously  treated  by  him  and  his 
friends,  for  which  I  thank  him  and  them.  During  the  course 
of  his  remai'ks  my  name  was  mentioned  in  such  a  way  as,  I 
suppose,  renders  it  at  least  not  improper  that  I  should  make 
some  sort  of  reply  to  him.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  follow  him 
in  the  precise  order  in  which  he  addressed  the  assembled 
multitude  upon  that  occasion,  though  I  shall  perhaps  do  so  in 
the  main. 

"  There  was  one  question  to  which  he  asked  the  attention 
of  the  crowd,  which  I  deem  of  somewhat  less  importance — at 
least  of  propriety  for  me  to  dwell  upon — than  the  others, 
which  he  brought  in  near  the  close  of  his  speech,  and  w^hich 
I  think  it  would  not  be  entirely  proper  for  me  to  omit  attend- 
ing to,  and  yet  if  I  were  not  to  give  some  attention  to  it  now, 
I  should  probably  forget  it  altogether.  While  I  am  upon 
this  subject,  allow  me  to  say  that  I  do  not  intend  to  indulge 
in  that  inconvenient  mode  sometimes  adopted  in  public 
speaking,  of  reading  from  documents ;  but  I  shall  depart  from 
that  rule  so  far  as  to  read  a  little  scrap  from  his  speech, 
which  notices  this  first  topic  of  which  I  shall  speak — that  is, 
provided  I  can  find  it  in  the  paper.  [Examines  the  morning's 
paper.] 

'  '  I  nave  made  up  my  mind  to  appeal  to  the  people  against 
the  combination  that  has  been  made  against  me  !  the  Repub- 
lican leaders  having  formed  an  alliance,  an  unholy  and  un- 
natural alliance,  with  a  portion  of  unscrupulous  federal  office- 
holders. I  intend  to  fight  that  allied  army  wherever  I  meet 
them.     I  know  they  deny  the  alliance,  but  yet  these  men  who 


APPENDIX.  443 


Speech  at  Chicago.  Keply  to  Douglas. 

are  trying  to  divide  the  Democratic  party  for  the  purpose  of 
electing  a  Republican  Senator  in  my  place,  are  just  as  much 
the  agents  and  tools  of  the  supporters  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  Hence 
I  shall  deal  with  this  allied  army  just  as  the  Russians  dealt 
with  the  allies  at  Sebastopol — that  is,  the  Russians  did  not 
stop  to  inquire,  when  they  fired  a  broadside,  whether  it  hit 
an  Englishman,  a  Frenchman,  or  a  Turk.  Nor  will  I  stop  to 
inquire,  nor  shall  I  hesitate,  whether  my  blows  shall  hit  these 
Republican  leaders  or  their  allies,  who  are  holding  the  federal 
offices  and  yet  acting  in  concert  with  them.' 

"  Well,  now,  gentlemen,  is  not  that  very  alarming  ?  Just 
to  think  of  it  I  right  at  the  outset  of  his  canvass,  I,  a  poor, 
kind,  amiable,  intelligent  gentleman,  I  am  to  be  slain  in  this 
way.  Why,  my  friends,  the  Judge,  is  not  only,  as  it  turns 
out,  not  a  dead  lion,  nor  even  a  living  one — he  is  the  rugged 
Russian  Bear  ! 

"  But  if  they  will  have  it — for  he  says  that  we  deny  it — 
that  there  is  any  such  alliance  as  he  says  there  is — and  1 
don't  propose  hanging  very  much  upon  this  question  of  vera- 
city— but  if  he  will  have  it  that  there  is  such  an  alliance — that 
the  Administration  men  and  we  are  allied,  and  we  stand  in 
the  attitude  of  English,  French  and  Turk,  he  occupying  the 
position  of  the  Russian,  in  that  case,  I  beg  that  he  will  in- 
dulge us  while  we  barely  suggest  to  him  that  these  allies  took 
Sebastopol. 

"  Gentlemen,  only  a  few  more  words  as  to  this  alliance.  For 
my  part,  I  have  to  say,  that  whether  there  be  such  an  alliance, 
depends,  so  far  as  I  know,  upon  what  may  be  a  right  defini 
tion  of  the  term  alliance.  If  for  the  Republican  party  to 
see  the  other  great  party  to  which  they  are  opposed  divided 
among  themselves,  and  not  try  to  stop  the  division  and  rather 
be  glad  of  it — if  that  is  an  alliance,  I  confess  I  am  in ;  but  if 
it  is  meant  to  be  said  that  the  Republicans  had  formed  an 
alliance  going  beyond  that,  by  which  there  is  contribution  of 
money  or  sacrifice  of  principle  on  the  one  side  or  the  other, 


444  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LIXCOLN. 

Speech  at  Chicago.  Rejily  to  Senator  Douglas.  Popular  Sovereignty. 

SO  far  as  the  Republican  party  is  concerned,  if  there  be  any 
such  thing,  I  protest  that  I  neither  know  any  thing  of  it,  nor 
do  I  believe  it  I  will,  however,  say — as  I  think  this  branch 
of  the  argument  is  lugged  in — I  would,  before  I  leave  it, 
state,  for  the  benefit  of  those  concerned,  that  one  of  those 
same  Buchanan  men  did  once  tell  me  of  an  argument  that  he 
made  for  his  opposition  to  Judge  Douglas.  He  said  that  a 
friend  of  our  Senator  Douglas  had  been  talking  to  him,  and 
had  among  other  things  said  to  him  :  '  Why,  you  don't  want 
to  beat  Douglas  V  '  Yes,'  said  he,  '  I  do  want  to  beat  him, 
and  I  will  tell  you  why.  I  believe  his  original  Nebraska  Bill 
was  right  in  the  abstract,  but  it  was  wrong  in  the  time  that  it 
was  brought  forward.  It  was  wrong  in  the  application  to  a 
Territory  in  regard  to  which  the  question  had  been  settled ; 
it  was  brought  forward  in  a  time  when  nobody  asked  him  ;  it 
was  tendered  to  the  South  when  the  South  had  not  asked  for 
it,  but  when  they  could  not  well  refuse  it ;  and  for  this  same 
reason  he  forced  that  question  upon  our  party ;  it  has  sunk 
the  best  men  all  over  the  nation,  everywhere ;  and  now  when 
our  President,  struggling  with  the  difficulties  of  this  man's 
getting  up,  has  reached  the  very  hardest  point  to  turn  in  the 
case,  he  deserts  him,  and  I  am  for  putting  him  where  he  will 
trouble  us  no  more.' 

"  Now,  gentlemen,  that  is  not  my  argument — ^that  is  not 
my  argument  at  all.  I  have  only  been  stating  to  you  the 
argument  of  a  Buchanan  man.  You  will  judge  if  there  is 
any  force  in  it. 

"Popular  sovereignty!  everlasting  popular  sovereignty! 
Let  us  for  a  moment  inquire  into  this  vast  matter  of  popular 
sovereignty.  What  is  popular  sovereignty  ?  We  recollect 
that  in  an  early  period  in  the  history  of  this  struggle,  there 
was  another  name  for  the  same  thing — Squatter  Sovereignty. 
It  was  not  exactly  Popular  Sovereignty,  but  Squatter  Sover- 
eignty. What  do  those  terms  mean  ?  What  do  those  terms 
mean  when  used  now  ?     And  vast  credit  is  taken   bv  our 


APPENDIX.  4-i5 

Speech  at  Chicago.  Reply  to  Senator  Douglas.  Squatter  Sovereignty. 

friend,  the  Judge,  in  regard  to  his  support  of  it,  when  he 
declares  the  last  years  of  his  life  have  been,  and  all  the  future 
years  of  his  life  shall  be,  devoted  to  this  matter  of  popular 
sovereignty.  What  is  it  ?  Why  it  is  the  sovereignty  of  the 
people  1  What  was  Squatter  Sovereignty  ?  I  suppose  if  it 
had  any  significance  at  all  it  was  the  right  of  the  people  to 
govern  themselves,  to  be  sovereign  in  their  own  affairs  while 
they  were  squatted  down  in  a  country  not  their  own,  while 
they  had  squatted  on  a  Territory  that  did  not  belong  to  them, 
in  the  sense  that  a  State  belongs  to  the  people  who  inhabit 
it — when  it  belonged  to  the  nation — such  right  to  govern 
themselves  was  called  '  Squatter  Sovereignty.' 

"Now  I  wish  you  to  mark.  What  has  become  of  that 
Squatter  Sovereignty  ?  What  has  become  of  it  ?  Can  you 
get  any  body  to  tell  you  now  that  the  people  of  a  Territory 
have  any  authority  to  govern  themselves,  in  regard  to  this 
mooted  question  of  slavery,  before  they  form  a  State  Consti- 
tution ?  No  such  thing  at  all,  although  there  is  a  general 
running  fire,  and  although  there  has  been  a  hurrah  made  in 
every  speech  on  that  side,  assuming  that  policy  had  given 
the  people  of  a  Territory  the  right  to  govern  themselves  upon 
this  question  ;  yet  the  point  is  dodged.  To-day  it  has  been 
decided — no  more  than  a  year  ago  it  was  decided  by  the 
Supreme  Court  Of  the  United  States,  as  is  insisted  upon  to- 
day, that  the  people  of  a  Territory  have  no  right  to  exclude 
slavery  from  a  Territory,  that  if  any  one  man  chooses  to  take 
slaves  into  a  Territory,  all  of  the  rest  of  the  people  have  no 
right  to  keep  them  out.  This  being  so,  and  this  decision 
being  made  one  of  the  points  that  the  Judge  approved,  and 
one  in  the  approval  of  which  he  says  he  means  to  keep  me 
down — put  me  down  I  should  not  say,  for  I  have  never  been 
up.  He  says  he  is  in  favor  of  it,  and  sticks  to  it,  and  expects 
to  win  his  battle  on  that  decision,  which  says  that  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  Squatter  Sovereignty ;  but  that  any  one  man 
may  take  slaves  into  a  Territory,  and  all  the  other  men  in  the 


446  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Speech  at  Cbicngo.  Reply  to  Senator  Douglas.  Negro  Slavery. 

Territory  may  be  opposed  to  it,  and  yet  by  reason  of  the 
Constitution  they  can  not  prohibit  it.  When  that  is  so,  how 
much  is  left  of  this  vast  matter  of  Squatter  Sovereignty  1 
should  like  to  know  ?     [A  voice — '  It  is  all  gone.'] 

"  When  we  get  back,  we  get  to  the  point  of  the  right  of  the 
people  to  make  a  Constitution.  Kansas  was  settled,  for 
example,  in  1854.  It  was  a  Territory  yet,  without  having 
formed  a  Constitution,  in  a  very  regular  way,  for  three  years. 
All  this  time  negro  slavery  could  be  taken  in  by  any  few 
individuals,  and  by  that  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court,  which 
the  Judge  approves,  all  the  rest  of  the  people  can  not  keep  it 
out ;  but  when  they  come  to  make  a  Constitution  they  may 
say  they  will  not  have  slavery.  But  it  is  there  ;  they  are 
obliged  to  tolerate  it  some  way,  and  all  experience  shows  it 
will  be  so — for  they  will  not  take  negro  slaves  and  abso- 
lutely deprive  the  owners  of  them.  All  experience  shows 
this  to  be  so.  All  that  space  of  time  that  runs  from  the 
beginning  of  the  settlement  of  the  Territory  until  there  is 
sufficiency  of  people  to  make  a  State  Constitution — all  that 
portion  of  time  popular  sovereignty  is  given  up.  The  seal 
is  absolutely  put  down  upon  it  by  the  Court  decision,  and 
Judge  Douglas  puts  his  on  the  top  of  that,  yet  he  is  appealing 
to  the  people  to  give  him  vast  credit  for  his  devotion  to  popu- 
lar sovereignty. 

"  Again,  when  we  get  to  the  question  of  the  right  of  the 
people  to  foi'm  a  State  Constitution  as  they  please,  to  form  it 
with  slavery  or  without  slavery — if  that  is  any  thing  new,  I 
confess  I  don't  know  it.  Has  there  ever  been  a  time  when 
any  body  said  that  any  other  than  the  people  of  a  Territory 
itself  should  form  a  Constitution  ?  What  is  now  in  it  that 
Judge  Douglas  should  have  fought  several  years  of  his  life, 
and  pledge  himself  to  fight  all  the  remaining  years  of  his 
life  for?  Can  Judge  Douglas  find  any  body  on  earth  that 
said  that  any  body  else  should  form  a  Constitution  for  a 
people  ?     [A  voice, '  Yes.']     Well,  I  should  like  you  to  name 


APPENDIX.  447 


Speech  at  Chicago.  Reply  to  Senator  Douglas. 

him ;    I  should  like  to  know  who  he  was.     [Same  voice, 
'John  Calhoun.'] 

"1^0,  Sir,  I  never  heard  of  even  John  Calhoun  saying  such 
a  thing.  He  insisted  on  the  same  principle  as  Judge  Douglas ; 
but  his  mode  of  applying  it  in  fact,  was  wrong.  It  is  enough 
for  my  purpose  to  ask  this  crowd,  when  ever  a  Republican 
said  any  thing  against  it  ?  They  never  said  any  thing  against 
it,  but  they  have  constantly  spoken  for  it ;  and  whosoever  will 
undertake  to  examine  the  platform,  and  the  speeches  of  re- 
sponsible men  of  the  party,  and  of  irresponsible  men,  too,  if 
you  please,  will  be  unable  to  find  one  word  from  anybody 
in  the  Republican  ranks,  opposed  to  that  Popular  Sovereignty 
which  Judge  Douglas  thinks  that  he  has  invented.  I  suppose 
that  Judge  Douglas  will  claim  in  a  little  while,  that  he  is  the 
inventor  of  the  idea  that  the  people  should  govern  them- 
selves ;  that  nobody  ever  thought  of  such  a  thing  until  he 
brought  it  forward.  We  do  remember,  that  in  that  old 
Declaration  of  Independence,  it  is  said  that  '  We  hold  these 
truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men  are  created  equal ; 
that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  in- 
alienable rights  ;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness  ;  that  to  secure  these  rights,  govern- 
ments are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed.'  There  is  the  origin  of 
the  Popular  Sovereignty  Who,  then,  shall  come  in  at  this 
day  and  claim  that  he  invented  it"  ? 

After  referring,  in  appropriate  terms,  to  the  credit 
claimed  by  Douglas  for  defeating  the  Lecompton  policy,  Mr. 
Lincoln  proceeds : 

"  I  defy  you  to  show  a  printed  resolution  passed  in  a  Demo- 
cratic meeting — I  take  it  upon  myself  to  defy  any  man  to 
show  a  printed  resolution  of  a  Democratic  meeting,  large  or 
small,  in  favor  of  Judge  Trumbull,  or  any  of  the  five  to  one 
Republican  who  beat  the  bill.     Every  thing  must  be  for  the 


448  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Speech  at  Chicago.  Reply  to  Senator  Douglas.  Negro  Slavery. 

Democrats  1  They  did  every  thing,  and  the  five  to  the  one 
that  really  did  the  thing,  they  snub  over,  and  they  do  not 
seem  to  remember  that  they  have  an  existence  upon  the  face 
of  the  earth. 

"  Gentlemen,  I  fear  that  I  shall  become  tedious.  I  leave 
this  branch  of  the  subject  to  take  hold  of  another.  I  take  up 
that  part  of  Judge  Douglas's  speech  in  which  he  respectfully 
attended  to  me. 

"  Judge  Douglas  made  two  points  upon  my  recent  speech 
at  Springfield.  He  says  they  are  to  be  the  issues  of  this  cam- 
paign. The  first  one  of  these  points  he  bases  upon  the  lan- 
guage in  a  speech  which  I  delivered  at  Springfield,  which  I 
believe  I  can  quote  correctly  from  memory.  I  said  there  that 
'  we  are  now  far  on  in  the  fifth  year  since  a  policy  was  insti- 
tuted for  the  avowed  object,  and  with  the  confident  promise 
of  putting  an  end  to  slavery  agitation  ;  under  the  operation 
of  that  policy,  that  agitation  had  not  only  not  ceased,  but 
had  constantly  augmented.  I  believe  it  will  not  cease  until  a 
crisis  shall  have  been  reached  and  passed.  A  house  divided 
against  itself  can  not  stand.  I  believe  this  Government  can 
not  endure  permanently  half  slave  and  half  free.  I  do  not 
expect  the  Union  to  be  dissolved' — I  am  quoting  from  my 
speech — '  I  do  not  expect  the  house  to  fall,  but  I  do  expect  it 
will  cease  to  be  divided.  It  will  come  all  one  thing  or  the 
other.  Either  the  opponents  of  slavery  will  arrest  the  spread 
of  it,  and  place  it  where  the  public  mind  shall  rest  in  the 
belief  that  it  is  in  the  course  of  ultimate  extin  tion,  or  its  ad- 
vocates will  push  it  forward  until  it  shall  have  become  alike 
lawful  in  all  the  States,  North  as  well  as  South.' 

"  In  this  paragraph  which  I  have  quoted  in  your  hearing, 
and  to  which  I  ask  the  attention  of  all,  Judge  Douglas  thinks 
he  discovers  great  political  heresy.  I  want  your  attention 
particularly  to  what  he  has  inferred  from  it.  He  says  I  am 
in  favor  of  making  all  the  States  of  this  Union  uniform  in  all 
their  internal  regulations ;  that  in  all  their  domestic  concerns 


APPENDIX.  449 


Speech  at  Chicago.  Reply  to  Senator  Douglas.        His  Prediction  about  Slavery. 


I  am  in  favor  of  making  them  entirely  uniform.  He  draws 
this  inference  from  the  language  I  have  quoted  to  you.  He 
says  that  I  am  in  favor  of  making  war  by  the  North  upon  the 
South  for  the  extinction  of  slavery ;  that  I  am  also  in  favor 
of  inviting,  as  he  expresses  it,  the  South  to  a  war  upon  the 
North,  for  the  purpose  of  nationalizing  slavery.  Now,  it  is 
singular  enough,  if  you  will  carefully  read  that  passage  over, 
that  I  did  not  say  that  I  was  in  favor  of  any  thing  in  it.  I 
only  said  what  I  expected  would  take  place.  I  made  a  pre- 
diction only — it  may  have  been  a  foolish  one  perhaps.  I  did 
not  even  say  that  I  desired  that  slavery  should  be  put  in 
course  of  ultimate  extinction.  I  do  say  so  now,  however,  so 
there  need  be  no  longer  any  difficulty  about  that.  It  may  be 
written  down  in  the  next  speech. 

"  Gentlemen,  Judge  Douglas  informed  you  that  this  speech 
of  mine  was  probably  carefully  prepared.  I  admit  that  it 
was.  I  am  not  master  of  language  ;  I  have  not  a  fine  educa- 
tion ;  I  am  not  capable  of  entering  into  a  disquisition  upon 
dialects,  as  I  believe  you  call  it ;  but  I  do  not  believe  the  lan- 
guage I  employed  bears  any  such  construction  as  Judge 
Douglas  puts  upon  it.  But  I  don't  care  about  a  quibble  in 
regard  to  words.  I  know  what  I  meant,  and  I  will  not 
leave  this  crowd  in  doubt,  if  I  can  explain  it  to  them,  what 
I  really  meant  in  the  use  of  that  paragraph. 

"  I  am  not,  in  the  first  place,  unaware  that  this  Govern- 
ment has  endured  eighty-two  years,  half  slave  and  half  free. 
I  know  that.  I  am  tolerably  well  acquainted  with  the  history 
of  the  country,  and  I  know  that  it  has  endured  eighty-two 
years,  half  slave  and  half  free.  I  believe — and  that  is  what  I 
meant  to  allude  to  there — I  believe  it  has  endured,  because 
during  all  that  time,  until  the  introduction  of  the  Nebraska 
bill,  the  public  mind  did  rest  all  the  time  in  the  belief  that 
slavery  was  in  course  of  ultimate  extinction.  That  was  what 
gave  us  the  rest  that  we  had  through  that  period  of  eighty- 
two  years ;  at  least,  so  I  believe.  I  have  always  hated 
29 


450  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Speecli  at  Chicago.  Reply  to  Senator  Douglas.  The  Nation's  Belief. 


glavery,  I  think,  as  much  as  any  Abolitionist.  I  have  been 
an  Old  Line  Whig.  I  have  always  hated  it,  but  I  have 
always  been  quiet  about  it  until  this  new  era  of  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  Nebraska  Bill  began.  I  always  believed  that 
everybody  was  against  it,  and  that  it  was  in  course  of  ultimate 
xtinction.  [Pointing  to  Mr.  Browning,  who  stood  near  by :] 
Browning  thought  so ;  the  great  mass  of  the  Nation  have 
rested  in  the  belief  that  slavery  was  in  the  course  of  ultimate 
extinction.     They  had  reason  so  to  believe. 

"  The  adoption  of  the  Constitution  and  its  attendant  history 
led  the  people  to  believe  so  ;  and  that  such  was  the  belief  of 
the  framers  of  the  Constitution  itself.  Why  did  those  old 
men,  about  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution, 
decree  that  slavery  should  not  go  into  the  new  territory, 
where  it  had  not  already  gone  ?  Why  declare  that  within 
twenty  years  the  African  slave-trade,  by  which  slaves  are 
supplied,  might  be  cut  off  by  Congress  ?  Why  were  all  these 
acts  ?  I  might  enumerate  more  of  such  acts — but  enough. 
What  were  they  but  a  clear  indication  that  the  framers  of  the 
Constitution  intended  and  expected  the  ultimate  extinction  of 
that  institution  ?  And  now,  when  I  say,  as  I  said  in  this 
speech  that  Judge  Douglas  has  quoted  from,  when  I  say  that 
I  think  the  opponents  of  slavery  will  resist  the  further  spread 
of  it,  and  place  it  where  the  public  mind  shall  rest  with  the 
b(;lief  that  it  is  in  course  of  ultimate  extinction,  I  only  mean 
to  say,  that  they  will  place  it  where  the  founders  of  this 
Government  originally  placed  it. 

"  I  have  said  a  hundred  times,  and  I  have  no  inclination  to 
take  it  back,  that  I  believe  there  is  no  right,  and  ought  to  be 
no  inclination  in  the  people  of  the  free  States  to  enter  into 
the  slave  States,  and  to  interfere  with  the  question  of  slavery 
at  all.  I  have  said  that  always.  Judge  Dougk.s  has  heard 
me  say  it — if  not  quite  a  hundred  times,  at  least  as  good  as  a 
hundred  times;  and  when  it  is  said  that  I  am  in  favor  of 
'uterfering  with  slavery  where   it  exists,  I  know  that  it  is 


APPENDIX.  451 

Speech  at  Chicago.  Reply  to  Senator  Douglas.  His  Views  on  State  Righta. 

unwarranted  by  any  thing  I  have  ever  intended,  and,  as  I 
believe,  by  any  thing  I  have  ever  said.  If,  by  any  means,  I 
have  ever  used  language  which  could  fairly  be  so  construed 
(as,  however,  I  believe  I  never  have),  I  now  correct  it. 

"  So  much,  then,  for  the  inference  that  Judge  Douglas 
draws,  that  I  am  in  favor  of  setting  the  sections  at  war  with 
one  anothei'.  I  know  that  I  never  meant  any  such  thing,  and 
I  believe  that  no  fair  mind  can  infer  any  such  thing  from  any 
thing  I  have  ever  said. 

"  Now  in  relation  to  his  inference  that  I  am  in  favor  of  a 
general  consolidation  of  all  the  local  institutions  of  the  various 
States.  I  will  attend  to  that  for  a  little  while,  and  try  to 
inquire,  if  I  can,  how  on  earth  it  could  be  that  any  man  could 
draw  such  an  inference  from  any  thing  I  said.  I  have  said, 
very  many  times,  in  Judge  Douglas's  hearing,  that  no  man 
believed  more  than  I  in  the  principle  of  self-government ; 
that  it  lies  at  the  bottom  of  all  my  ideas  of  just  government, 
from  beginning  to  end.  I  have  denied  that  his  use  of  that 
term  applies  properly.  But  for  the  thing  itself,  I  deny  that 
any  man  has  ever  gone  ahead  of  me  in  his  devotion  to  the 
principle,  whatever  he  may  have  done  in  efficiency  in  advo- 
catiug  it.  I  think  that  I  have  said  it  in  your  hearing — that  I 
believe  each  individual  is  naturally  entitled  to  do  as  he  pleases 
with  himself  and  with  the  fruit  of  his  labor,  so  far  as  it  in  no 
wise  interferes  with  any  other  man's  rights — that  each  com- 
munity, as  a  State,  has  a  right  to  do  exactly  as  it  pleases 
with  all  the  concerns  within  that  State  that  interfere  with  the 
right  of  no  other  State,  and  that  the  General  Govei'nment, 
upon  principle,  has  no  right  to  interfere  with  any  thing  other 
than  that  general  class  of  things  that  does  concern  the  whole 
I  have  said  that  at  all  times.  I  have  said  as  illustrations, 
that  I  do  not  believe  in  the  right  of  Illinois  to  interfere  with 
the  cranberry  laws  of  Indiana,  the  oyster  laws  of  Virginia,  or 
the  liquor  laws  of  Maine.  I  have  said  these  things  over  and 
over  again,  and  I  repeat  them  here  as  my  sentiments 


452  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Speech  at  Chicago.  Reply  to  Senator  Douglas.  The  Dred  Scott  Decision. 

"  So  much  then  as  to  my  disposition — my  wish — to  have 
all  the  State  Legislatures  blotted  out,  and  to  have  one  con- 
solidated government,  and  a  uniformity  of  domestic  regula- 
tions in  all  the  States ;  by  which  I  suppose  it  is  meant,  if  we 
raise  corn  here,  we  must  make  sugar-cane  grow  here  too,  and 
we  must  make  those  which  grow  North  grow  in  the  South. 
All  this  I  suppose  he  understands  I  am  in  favor  of  doing. 
Now,  so  much  for  all  this  nonsense — for  I  must  call  it  so. 
The  Judge  can  have  no  issue  with  me  on  a  question  of  es- 
tablished uniformity  in  the  domestic  regulations  of  the  States. 

"A  little  now  on  the  other  point — the  Dred  Scott  decision. 
Another  of  the  issues  he  says  that  is  to  be  made  with  me,  is 
upon  his  devotion  to  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  and  my  opposi- 
tion to  it. 

"  I  have  expressed  heretofore,  and  I  now  repeat  my  oppo- 
sition to  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  but  I  should  be  allowed  to 
state  the  nature  of  that  opposition,  and  I  ask  your  indulgence 
while  I  do  so.  What  is  fairly  implied  by  the  term  Judge 
Douglas  has  used,  '  resistance  to  the  decision  ?'  I  do  not 
resist  it.  If  I  wanted  to  take  Dred  Scott  from  his  master,  I 
would  be  interfering  with  property,  and  that  terrible  diffi- 
culty that  Judge  Douglas  speaks  of,  of  interfering  with  prop- 
erty would  arise.  But  I  am  doing  no  such  thing  as  that,  but 
all  that  I  am  doing  is  refusing  to  obey  it  as  a  political  rule. 
If  I  were  in  Congress,  and  a  vote  should  come  up  on  a 
question  whether  slavery  should  be  prohibited  in  a  new  Ter- 
ritory, in  spite  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  I  would  vote  that 
it  should. 

"  That  is  what  I  would  do.  Judge  Douglas  said  last 
night,  that  before  the  decision  he  might  advance  his  opinion, 
and  it  might  be  contrary  to  the  decision  when  it  was  made; 
but  after  it  was  made  he  would  abide  by  it  until  it  was  re- 
versed. Just  so  I  We  let  this  property  abide  by  the  de- 
cision, but  we  will  try  to  reverse  that  decision.  [Loud  ap- 
plause 1     We  will  try  to  put  it  where  Judge  Douglas  will  not 


APPENDIX.  453 


Speech  at  Chicago.  Keply  to  Senator  Douglas.  The  Dred  Scott  Decision. 

object,  for  he  says  he  will  obey  it  until  it  is  reversed.  Some- 
body has  to  reverse  that  decision,  since  it  was  made,  and  we 
mean  to  reverse  it,  and  we  mean  to  do  it  peaceably. 

"  What  are  the  uses  of  decisions  of  courts  ?  They  have 
two  uses.  As  rules  of  property  they  have  two  uses.  First — 
they  decide  upon  the  question  before  the  court.  They  decide 
in  this  case  that  Dred  Scott  is  a  slave.  Nobody  resists  that. 
Not  only  that,  but  they  say  to  everybody  else,  that  persons 
standing  just  as  Dred  Scott  stands,  is  as  he  is.  That  is,  they 
say  that  when  a  question  comes  up  upon  another  person,  it 
will  be  so  decided  again  unless  the  court  decides  in  another 
way,  unless  the  court  overrules  its  decision.  Well,  we  mean 
to  do  what  we  can  to  have  the  court  decide  the  other  way. 
That  is  one  thing  we  mean  to  try  to  do. 

"  The  sacredness  that  Judge  Douglas  throws  around  this 
decision,  is  a  degree  of  sacredness  that  has  never  been  before 
thrown  around  any  other  decision.  I  have  never  heard  of 
such  a  thing.  Why,  decisions  apparently  contrary  to  that 
decision,  or  that  good  lawyers  thought  were  contrary  to  that 
decision,  have  been  made  by  that  very  court  before.  It  is 
the  first  of  the  kind  ;  it  is  an  astonisher  in  legal  history.  It  is 
a  new  wonder  of  the  world.  It  is  based  upon  falsehoods  in 
the  main  as  to  the  facts — allegation  of  facts  upon  which  it 
stands  are  not  facts  at  all  in  many  instances,  and  no  decision 
made  on  any  question — the  first  instance  of  a  decision  made 
under  so  many  unfavorable  circumstances — thus  placed,  has 
ever  been  held  by  the  profession  as  law,  and  it  has  always 
needed  confirmation  before  the  lawyers  regarded  it  as  settled 
law.  But  Judge  Douglas  will  have  it  that  all  hands  must 
take  this  extraordinary  decision,  made  under  these  extraor 
dinary  circumstances,  and  give  their  vote  in  Congress  in  ac 
cordance  with  it,  yield  to  it  and  obey  it  in  every  possible 
sense.  Circumstances  alter  cases.  Do  not  gentlemen  here 
remember  the  case  of  that  same  Supreme  Court,  twenty-five 
or  thirty  years  ago,  deciding  that  a  National  Bank  was  Con- 


454:  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLX. 

Speech  at  Chicago.  Reply  to  Senator  Douglas.  All  Men  Born  Free, 

stitutional  ?  1  ask,  if  somebody  does  not  remember  that  a 
National  Bank  was  declared  to  be  Constitutional  ?  Such  is 
the  truth,  whether  it  be  remembered  or  not.  The  Bank 
charter  ran  out,  and  a  re-charter  was  granted  by  Congress. 
That  re-charter  was  laid  before  General  Jackson.  It  was 
urged  upon  him,  when  he  denied  the  Constitutionality  of  the 
Bank,  that  the  Supreme  Court  had  decided  that  it  was  Con- 
stitutional ;  and  that  General  Jackson  then  said  that  the 
Supreme  Court  had  no  right  to  lay  down  a  rule  to  govern  a 
co-ordinate  branch  of  the  Government,  the  members  of  which 
had  sworn  to  support  the  Constitution — that  each  member 
had  sworn  to  support  that  Constitution  as  he  understood  it. 
I  will  venture  here  to  say,  that  I  have  heard  Judge  Douglas 
say  that  he  approved  of  General  Jackson  for  that  act. 
What  has  now  become  of  all  his  tirade  about  '  resistance  to 
the  Supreme  Court  ?'  *  * 

"We  were  often — more  than  once,  at  least — in  the  course 
of  Judge  Douglas's  speech  last  night,  reminded  that  this 
Government  was  made  for  white  men — that  he  believed  it 
was  made  for  white  men.  Well,  that  is  putting  it  into 
a  shape  in  which  no  one  wants  to  deny  it ;  but  the  Judge 
then  goes  into  his  passion  for  drawing  inferences  that  are  not 
warranted.  I  protest,  now,  and  forever,  against  that  counter- 
feit logic  which  presumes  that  because  I  did  not  want  a  negro 
woman  for  a  slave,  I  do  necessarily  want  her  for  a  wife.  My 
understanding  is  that  I  need  not  have  her  for  either ;  but,  as 
God  made  us  separate,  we  can  leave  one  another  alone,  and 
do  one  another  much  good  thereby.  There  are  white  men 
enough  to  marry  all  the  white  women,  and  enough  black  men 
to  marry  all  the  black  women,  and  in  God's  name  let  them 
be  so  married.  The  Judge  regales  us  with  the  terrible 
enormities  that  take  place  by  the  mixture  of  races  ;  that  is  the 
inferior  race  bears  the  superior  down.  Why,  Judge,  if  you 
do  not  let  them  get  together  in  the  Territories  they  won't  mix 
theib 


APPENDIX.  455 


Speech  at  Chicago.  Replj'  to  Senator  Douglas.  Fourth  of  July  Gatheriugs. 

"Isow,  it  happens  that  we  meet  together  once  erery  year, 
some  time  about  the  Fourth  of  July,  for  some  reason  or  other. 
These  Fourth  of  July  gatherings  I  suppose  have  their  uses. 
If  you  will  indulge  me,  I  will  state  what  I  suppose  to  be  some 
of  them. 

We  are  now  a  mighty  nation  ;  we  are  thirty,  or  about 
thirty  millions  of  people,  and  we  own  and  inhabit  about  one- 
fifteenth  part  of  the  dry  laud  of  the  whole  earth.  We  run 
our  memory  back  over  the  pages  of  history  for  about  eighty- 
two  years,  and  we  discover  that  we  were  then  a  very  small 
people  in  point  of  numbers,  vastly  inferior  to  what  we  are 
now,  with  a  vastly  less  extent  of  country,  with  vastly  less  of 
every  thing  we  deem  desirable  among  men — we  look  upon 
the  change  as  exceedingly  advantageous  to  us  and  to  our 
posterity,  and  we  fix  upon  something  that  happened  away 
back,  as  in  some  way  or  other  being  connected  with  this  rise 
of  posterity.  We  find  a  race  of  men  living  in  that  day  whom 
we  claim  as  our  fathers  and  grandfathers ;  they  were  iron 
men  ;  they  fought  for  the  principle  that  they  were  contending 
for ;  and  we  understood  that  by  what  they  then  did  it  has 
followed  that  the  degree  of  prosperity  which  we  now  enjoy 
has  come  to  us.  We  hold  this  annual  celebration  to  remind 
ourselves  of  all  the  good  done  in  this  process  of  time,  of  how 
it  was  done  and  who  did  it,  and  how  we  are  historically  con- 
nected with  it ;  and  we  go  from  these  meetings  in  better 
humor  with  ourselves — we  feel  more  attached  the  one  to  the 
other,  and  more  firmly  bound  to  the  country  we  inhabit.  In 
every  way  we  are  better  men  in  the  age,  and  race,  and  country 
in  which  we  live,  for  these  celebrations.  But  after  we  have 
done  all  this,  we  have  not  yet  reached  the  whole.  There  is 
something  else  connected  with  it.  We  have,  besides  these — 
men  descended  by  blood  from  our  ancestors — those  among  us, 
perhaps,  half  our  people,  who  are  not  descendants  at  all  of 
these  men  ;  they  are  men  who  have  come  from  Europe — 
German,  Irish,  French,  and   Scandinavian — men  that   have 


456  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Keply  to  Douglas.  Chicago,  July  10, 1858. 

come  from  Europe  themselves,  or  whose  ancestors  have  come 
hither  and  settled  here,  finding  themselves  our  equals  in  all 
things.  If  they  look  back  through  this  history  to  trace  their 
connection  with  those  days  by  blood,  they  find  they  have 
none ;  they  cannot  carry  themselves  back  into  that  glorious 
epoch  and  make  themselves  feel  that  they  are  part  of  us ;  but 
when  they  look  through  that  old  Declaration  of  Independence, 
they  find  that  those  old  men  say  that  '  we  hold  these  truths 
to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men  are  created  equal,'  and  then 
they  feel  that  that  moral  sentiment,  taught  on  that  day,  evi- 
dences their  relation  to  those  men,  that  it  is  the  father  of  all 
moral  principle  in  them,  and  that  they  have  a  right  to  claim 
it  as  though  they  were  blood  of  the  blood  and  flesh  of  the 
desh  of  the  men  who  wrote  that  Declaration,  and  so  they  are. 
That  is  the  electric  cord  in  that  Declaration  that  links  the 
hearts  of  patriotic  and  liberty-loving  men  together,  that  will 
link  those  patriotic  hearts  as  long  as  the  love  of  freedom 
exists  in  the  minds  of  men  throughout  the  world. 

"  Now,  sirs,  for  the  purpose  of  squaring  things  with  this 
idea  of  '  don't  care  if  slavery  is  voted  up  or  voted  down,'  for 
sustaining  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  for  holding  that  the  Decla- 
r-xtion  of  Independence  did  not  mean  any  thing  at  all,  we  have 
Judge  Douglas  giving  his  exposition  of  what  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  means,  and  we  have  him  saying  that  the 
people  of  America  are  equal  to  the  people  of  England.  Ac- 
cording to  his  construction,  you  Germans  are  not  connected 
with  it.  Now  I  ask  you  in  all  soberness,  if  all  these  things, 
if  indulged  in,  if  ratified,  if  confirmed  and  indorsed,  if  taught 
to  our  children  and  repeated  to  them,  do  not  tend  to  rub  out 
the  sentiment  of  liberty  in  the  country,  and  to  transform  this 
Government  into  a  government  of  some  other  form.  These 
arguments  that  are  made,  that  the  inferior  race  are  to  be 
treated  with  as  much  allowance  as  they  are  capable  of  enjoy- 
ing ;  that  as  much  is  to  be  done  for  them  as  their  condition 
will  allow — what  are  these  arguments  ?     They  are  the  argu- 


APPENDIX.  457 


Reply  to  Judge  Douglas.  Declaration  of  Independence. 

ments  that  Kings  have  made  for  enslaving  the  people  in  all 
ages  of  the  world.  You  will  find  that  all  the  arguments  in 
favor  of  King-craft  were  of  this  class  ;  they  always  bestrode 
the  necks  of  the  people,  not  that  they  wanted  to  do  it,  but 
because  the  people  were  better  off  for  being  ridden.  Thai  is 
their  argument,  and  this  argument  of  the  Judge  is  the  same 
old  serpent  that  says :  You  work,  and  I  eat,  you  toil  and  I 
will  enjoy  the  fruits  of  it.  Turn  it  whatever  way  you  will — 
whether  it  come  from  the  mouth  of  a  King,  an  excuse  for 
enslaving  the  people  of  his  country,  or  from  the  mouth  of 
men  of  one  race  as  a  reason  for  enslaving  the  men  of  another 
race,  it  is  all  the  same  old  sgfpent,  and  I  hold  if  that  course 
of  argumentation  that  is  made  for  the  purpose  of  convincing 
the  public  mind  that  we  should  not  care  about  this,  should  be 
granted,  it  does  not  stop  with  the  negro.  I  should  like  to 
know  if,  taking  this  old  Declaration  of  Independence,  which 
declares  that  all  men  are  equal  upon  principle,  you  begin 
making  exceptions  to  it,  where  you  will  stop  ?  If  one  man 
says  it  does  not  mean  a  negro,  why  not  another  say  it  does 
not  mean  some  other  man  ?  If  that  declaration  is  not  the 
truth,  let  us  get  the  statute  book,  in  which  we  find  it,  and 
tear  it  out !  Who  is  so  bold  as  to  do  it  ?  If  it  is  not  true, 
let  us  tear  it  out !  [cries  of  '  no,  no,']  ;  let  us  stick  to  it  then ; 
let  us  stand  firmly  by  it  then. 

"  It  may  be  argued  that  there  are  certain  conditions  that 
make  necessities  and  impose  them  upon  us,  and  to  the  extent 
that  a  necessity  is  imposed  upon  a  man,  he  must  submit  to  it 
I  think  that  was  the  condition  in  which  we  found  ourselves 
when  we  established  this  Government.  We  had  slaves  among 
us ;  Ave  could  not  get  our  Constitution  unless  we  permitted 
them  to  remain  in  slavery ;  we  could  not  secure  the  good  we 
did  secure  if  we  grasped  for  more  ;  and  having,  by  necessity, 
submitted  to  that  much,  it  does  not  destroy  the  principle  that 
is  the  charter  of  our  liberties.  Let  that  charter  stand  as  our 
standard. 


458  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Reply  to  Judge  Douglas.  All  Men  Created  Equ»l. 

"  My  friend  has  said  to  me  that  I  am  a  poor  hand  to  quote 
Scripture.  I  will  try  it  again,  however.  It  is  said  in  one  of 
the  admonitions  of  our  Lord  :  '  As  your  Father  in  heaven  is 
perfect,  be  ye  also  perfect.'  The  Saviour,  I  suppose,  did  not 
expect  that  any  human  creature  could  be  perfect  as  the  Father 
in  Heaven  ;  but  He  said :  '  As  your  Father  in  Heaven  is  per- 
fect, be  ye  also  perfect.'  He  set  that  up  as  a  standard,  and 
be  who  did  most  toward  reaching  that  standard,  attained  the 
highest  degree  of  moral  perfection.  So  I  say  in  relation  to 
the  principle  that  all  men  are  created  equal,  let  it  be  as  nearly 
reached  as  we  can.  If  we  cannot  give  freedom  to  every  crea- 
ture, let  us  do  nothing  that  will  impose  slavery  upon  any 
other  creature.  Let  us  then  turn  this  Government  back  into 
the  channel  in  which  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  orig- 
inally placed  it.  Let  us  stand  firmly  by  each  other.  If  we 
do  not  do  so  we  are  turning  in  the  contrary  direction,  that 
our  friend  Judge  Douglas  proposes — not  intentionally — as 
working  in  the  traces  tends  to  make  this  one  universal  slave 
nation.  He  is  one  that  runs  in  that  direction,  and  as  such  I 
resist  him. 

"  My  friends,  I  have  detained  you  about  as  long  as  I  de- 
sired to  do,  and  I  have  only  to  say,  let  us  discard  all  this 
quibbling  about  this  man  and  the  other  man — this  race  and 
that  race  and  the  other  race  being  inferior,  and  therefore  they 
must  be  placed  in  an  inferior  position — discarding  our  stand- 
ard that  we  have  left  us.  Let  us  discard  all  these  things, 
and  unite  as  one  people  throughout  this  land,  until  we  shall 
once  more  stand  up  declaring  that  all  men  are  created  equal. 

"  My  friends,  I  could  not,  without  launching  off  upon  some 
new  topic,  which  would  detain  you  too  long,  continue  to-night. 
I  thank  you  for  this  most  extensive  audience  that  you  have 
furnished  me  to-night.  I  leave  you,  hoping  that  the  lamp  of 
liberty  will  burn  in  your  bosems  until  there  shall  no  longer 
be  a  doubt  that  all  men  are  created  free  and  equal." 


APPENDIX.  459 

Speech  at  Freeport.  Interrogatories  Answered. 

OPENING   PASSAGES   OF   HIS   SPEECH   AT   FREEPORT. 

"Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — On  Saturday  last,  Judge 
Douglas  and  myself  first  met  in  public  discussion.  He  spoke 
one  hour,  I  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  he  replied  for  half  an 
hour.  The  order  is  now  reversed.  I  am  to  speak  an  hour, 
he  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  then  I  am  to  reply  for  half  an 
hour.  I  propose  to  devote  myself  during  the  first  hour  to 
the  scope  of  what  was  brought  within  the  range  of  his  half- 
hour  speech  at  Ottawa.  Of  course  there  was  bi'ought  within 
the  scope  of  that  half-hour's  speech  something  of  his  own 
opening  speech.  In  the  course  of  that  opening  argument 
Judge  Douglas  proposed  to  me  seven  distinct  interrogatories. 
In  my  speech  of  an  hour  and  a  half,  I  attended  to  some  other 
parts  of  his  speech,  and  incidentally,  as  I  thought,  answered 
one  of  the  interrogatories  then.  I  then  distinctly  intimated 
to  him  that  I  would  answer  the  rest  of  his  interrogatories  on 
condition  only  that  he  should  agree  to  answer  as  many  for 
me.  He  made  no  intimation  at  the  time  of  the  proposition, 
nor  did  he  in  his  reply  allude  at  all  to  that  suggestion  of  mine. 
I  do  him  no  injustice  in  saying  that  he  occupied  at  least  half 
of  his  reply  in  dealing  with  me  as  though  I  had  refused  to 
answer  his  interrogatories.  I  now  propose  that  I  will  answei 
any  of  the  interrogatories,  upon  condition  that  l^  will  answer 
questions  from  me  not  exceeding  the  same  number.  I  give 
him  an  opportunity  to  respond.  The  judge  remains  silent. 
I  now  say  that  I  will  answer  his  interrogatories,  whether  he 
answers  mine  or  not ;  and  that  after  I  have  done  so,  I  shall 
propound  mine  to  him. 

"  I  have  supposed  myself,  since  the  ofganization  of  the 
Republican  party  at  Bloomington,  in  May,  1856,  bound  as  a 
party  man  by  the  platforms  of  the  party,  then  and  since.  If 
in  any  interrogatories  which  I  shall  answer,  I  go  beyond  the 
scope  of  what  is  within  these  platforms,  it  will  be  perceived 
that  no  one  is  responsible  but  myself. 


460  LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Speech  at  Freopoi't.  Interrogatories  Answered. 

"  Having  said  thus  much,  I  will  take  up  the  judge's  inter- 
rogatories as  I  find  them  printed  in  the  Chicago  Times,  and 
answer  them  seriatim.  In  order  that  there  may  be  no  mis- 
take about  it,  I  have  copied  the  interrogatories  in  writing, 
and  also  my  answers  to  them.  The  first  one  of  these  inter- 
rogatories is  in  these  words  : 

Question  1.  " '  I  desire  to  know  whether  Lincoln  to-day 
stands,  as  he  did  in  1854,  in  favor  of  the  unconditional  repeal 
of  the  Fugitive  Slave  law  V 

Answer.  "  I  do  not  now,  nor  ever  did,  stand  in  favor  of 
the  unconditional  repeal  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  law. 

Q.  2.  "  '  I  desire  him  to  answer  whether  he  stands  pledged 
to-day,  as  he  did  in  1854,  against  the  admission  of  any  more 
slave  States  into  the  Union,  even  if  the  people  want  them  V 

A.  "  I  do  not  now,  nor  ever  did,  stand  pledged  against  the 
admission  of  any  more  slave  States  into  the  Union. 

Q.  3.  "  '  I  want  to  know  whether  he  stands  pledged  against 
the  admission  of  a  new  State  into  the  Union  with  such  a  Con- 
stitution as  the  people  of  that  State  may  see  fit  to  make  V 

A.  "  I  do  not  stand  pledged  against  the  admission  of  a  new 
State  into  the  Union,  with  such  a  Constitution  as  the  people 
of  that  State  may  see  fit  to  make. 

Q.  4.  "  '  I  want  to  know  whether  he  stands  to-day  pledged 
to  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia  V 

A.  "I  do  not  stand  to-day  pledged  to  the  abolition  of 
slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Q.  5.  "  '  I  desire  him  to  answer  whether  he  stands  pledged 
to  the  prohibition  of  the  slave-trade  between  the  different 
States  V 

A.  "I  do  not  stand  pledged  to  the  prohibition  of  the  slave- 
trade  between  the  different  States. 

Q.  6.  "'I  desire  to  know  whether  he  stands  pledged  to 
prohibit  slavery  in  all  the  Territories  of  the  United  States, 
North  as  well  as  South  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  line  V 

A    "  I  am  impliedly,  if  not  expressly,  pledged  to  a  belief 


APPENDIX.  461 


Speech  at  Freeport.  Interrogatories  Answered.  Fugitive  Slave  Law. 

in  the  right  and  duty  of  Congress  to  prohibit  slavery  in  all 
the  United  States  Territories. 

Q.  T.  "  '  I  desire  him  to  answer  whether  he  is  opposed  to 
the  acquisition  of  any  new  territory  unless  slavery  is  first  pro- 
hibited therein  ?' 

A.  "I  am  not  generally  opposed  to  honest  acquisition  of 
territory ;  and,  in  any  given  case,  I  would  or  would  not 
oppose  such  acquisition,  accordingly  as  I  might  think  such 
acquisition  would  or  would  not  agitate  the  slavery  question 
among  ourselves. 

"  Now,  my  friends,  it  will  be  perceived  upon  an  examina- 
tion of  these  questions  and  answers,  that  so  far  I  have  only 
answered  that  I  was  not  pledged  to  this,  that  or  the  other. 
The  judge  has  not  framed  his  interrogatories  to  ask  me  any 
thing  more  than  this,  and  I  have  answered  in  strict  accord- 
ance with  the  interrogatories,  and  have  answered  truly  that 
I  am  not  pledged  at  all  upon  any  of  the  points  to  which  I 
have  answered.  But  I  am  not  disposed  to  hang  upon  the 
exact  form  of  his  interrogatory.  I  am  rather  disposed  to  take 
up  at  least  some  of  these  questions,  and  state  what  I  really 
think  upon  them. 

"As  to  the  first  one,  in  regard  to  the  Fugitive  Slave  law,  I 
have  never  hesitated  to  say,  and  I  do  not  now  hesitate  to  say, 
that  I  think,  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the 
people  of  the  Southern  States  are  entitled  to  a  Congressional 
Slave  law.  Having  said  that,  I  have  had  nothing  to  say  in 
regard  to  the  existing  Fugitive  Slave  law,  further  than  that  I 
think  it  should  have  been  framed  so  as  to  be  free  from  some 
of  the  objections  that  pertain  to  it,  without  lessening  its 
efficiency.  And  inasmuch  as  we  are  not  now  in  an  agitation 
in  regard  to  an  alteration  or  modification  of  that  law,  I  would 
not  be  the  man  to  introduce  it  as  a  new  subject  of  agitation 
upon  the  general  question  of  slavery. 

"  In  regard  to  the  other  question,  of  whether  I  am  pledged 
to  the  admission  of  any  more  Slave  States  into  the  Union,  i 


462  LIFE    OF    ABRAHAM   LIXCOLX. 

Speech  at  Freeport.  Slavery  and  the  Slave  Trade. 

State  to  you  very  frankly  that  I  would  be  exceedingly  sorry 
ever  to  be  put  in  a  position  of  having  to  pass  upon  that  ques- 
tion. I  should  be  exceedingly  glad  to  know  that  there  would 
never  be  another  slave  State  admitted  into  the  Union ;  but 
I  must  add,  that  if  slavery  shall  be  kept  out  of  the  Territories 
during  the  Territorial  existence  of  any  one  given  Territory, 
and  then  the  people  shall,  having  a  fair  chance  and  a  clear 
field,  when  they  come  to  adopt  the  Constitution,  do  such  an 
extraordinary  thing  as  to  adopt  a  slave  Constitution,  unin- 
fluenced by  the  actual  presence  of  the  institution  among  them, 
I  see  no  alternative  if  we  own  the  country,  but  to  admit  them 
into  the  IJnion. 

"  The  third  interrogatory  is  answered  by  the  answer  to  the 
second,  it  being,  as  I  conceive,  the  same  as  the  second. 

"  The  fourth  one  is  in  regard  to  the  abolition  of  slavery  in 
the  District  of  Columbia.  In  relation  to  that,  I  have  my  mind 
very  distinctly  made  up.  I  should  be  exceedingly  glad  to  see 
slavery  abolished  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  I  believe  that 
Congress  possesses  the  constitutional  power  to  abolish  it. 
Yet  as  a  member  of  Congress,  I  should  not  with  my  present 
views,  be  in  favor  of  endeavoring  to  abolish  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  unless  it  would  be  upon  these  conditions  : 
First,  that  the  abolition  should  be  gradual ;  second,  that  it 
should  be  on  a  vote  of  the  majority  of  qualified  voters  in  the 
District;  and  third,  that  compensation  should  be  made  to 
unwilling  owners.  With  these  three  conditions,  I  confess  I 
would  be  exceedingly  glad  to  see  Congress  abolish  slavery  in 
the  District  of  Columbia,  and,  in  the  language  of  Henry 
Clay,  'sweep  from  our  Capital  that  foul  blot  upon  our 
nation.' 

"  In  regard  to  the  fifth  interrogatory,  I  must  say  here,  that 
as  to  the  question  of  the  abolition  of  the  slave-trade  between 
the  different  States,  I  can  truly  answer,  as  I  have,  that  I  am 
pledged  to  nothing  about  it.  It  is  a  subject  to  which  I  have 
not  given  that  mature  consideration  that  would  make  me  feel 


APPENDIX.  463 


Speech  at  Freeport.  Slavery  and  the  Slave  Trade. 

authorized  to  state  a  position  so  as  to  hold  myself  entirely 
Dound  by  it.  In  other  words,  that  question  has  never  been 
prominently  enough  before  me  to  induce  me  to  investigate 
whether  we  really  have  the  Constitutional  power  to  do  it.  I 
could  investigate  it  if  I  had  sufficient  time  to  bring  myself  to 
a  conclusion  upon  that  subject ;  but  I  have  not  done  so,  and 
I  say  so  frankly  to  you  here,  and  to  Judge  Douglas.  I  must 
say,  however,  that  if  I  should  be  of  opinion  that  Congress 
does  possess  the  Constitutional  power  to  abolish  slave-trad- 
ing among  the  different  States,  I  should  still  not  be  in  favor 
of  the  exercise  of  that  power  unless  upon  some  conservative 
principle  as  I  conceive  it,  akin  to  what  I  have  said  in  relation 
to  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

"  My  answer  as  to  whether  I  desire  that  slavery  should  be 
prohibited  in  all  Territories  of  the  United  States,  is  full  and 
explicit  within  itself,  and  can  not  be  made  clearer  by  any 
comments  of  mine.  So  I  suppose  in  regard  to  the  question 
whether  I  am  opposed  to  the  acquisition  of  anymore  territory 
unless  slavery  is  first  prohibited  therein,  my  answer  is  such 
that  I  could  add  nothing  by  way  of  illustration,  or  making 
myself  better  understood,  than  the  answer  which  I  have 
placed  in  writing. 

"  Now  in  all  this,  the  judge  has  me,  and  he  has  me  on  the 
record.  I  suppose  he  had  flattered  himself  that  I  was  really 
entertaining  one  set  of  opinions  for  one  place  and  another  set 
for  another  place — that  I  was  afraid  to  say  at  one  place  what 
I  uttered  at  another.  What  I  am  saying  here  I  suppose  I 
say  to  a  vast  audience  as  strongly  tending  to  Abolitionism  as 
any  audience  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  I  believe  I  am 
saying  that  which,  if  it  would  be  offensive  to  any  persons 
and  render  them  enemies  to  myself,  would  be  offensive  to 
persons  in  this  audience." 


464  LIFE   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN, 

Letter  to  Gen.  McClellan.  His  Management  Criticised 


LETTER  TO  GENERAL  McCLELLAN. 

"Washington,  April  9,  1862. 

"  My  Dear  Sir  :  Your  dispatches,  complaining  that  you  are 
not  properly  sustained,  while  they  do  not  offend  me,  do  pain 
me  very  much. 

"  Blenker's  division  was  withdrawn  from  you  before  you  left 
here,  and  you  know  the  pressure  under  which  I  did  it,  and,  as 
I  thought,  acquiesced  in  it — certainly  not  without  reluc- 
tance. 

"After  you  left,  I  ascertained  that  less  than  twenty  thou- 
sand unorganized  men,  without  a  single  field  battery,  were 
all  you  designed  to  be  left  for  the  defence  of  Washington  and 
Manassas  Junction,  and  part  of  this  even  was  to  go  to  Gen. 
Hooker's  old  position.  General  Banks'  corps,  once  designated 
for  Manassas  Junction,  was  diverted  and  tied  up  on  the  line 
of  Winchester  and  Strasburgh,  and  could  not  leave  it  without 
again  exposing  the  Upper  Potomac  and  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad.  This  presented,  or  would  present,  when 
McDowell  and  Sumner  should  be  gone,  a  great  temptation  to 
the  enemy  to  turn  back  from  the  Rappahannock  and  sack 
Washington.  My  explicit  order  that  Washington  should,  by 
the  judgment  of  all  the  commanders  of  army  corps,  be 
left  entirely  secure,  had  been  neglected,  It  was  precisely 
this  that  drove  me  to  detain  McDowell. 

"  I  do  not  forget  that  I  was  satisfied  with  your  arrangement 
to  leave  Banks  at  Manassas  Junction  :  but  when  that  arrange- 
ment was  broken  up,  and  nothing  was  substituted  for  it,  of 
course  I  was  constrained  to  substitute  something  for  it  myself. 
And  allow  me  to  ask,  do  you  really  think  I  should  permit 
the  line  from  Richmond,  via  Manassas  Junction,  to  this  city, 
to  be  entirely  open,  except  what  resistance  could  be  presented 
by  less  than  twenty  thousand  unorganized  troops  ?  This  is 
a  question  which  the  country  will  not  allow  me  to  evade. 


APPENDIX.  465 


Letter  to  Gen.  McClellan.  His  Management  Criticised. 


"  There  is  a  curious  mystery  about  the  number  of  troops 
now  with  yon.  When  I  telegraphed  you  on  the  6th,  saying 
you  had  over  a  hundred  thousand  with  you,  I  had  just  obtained 
from  the  Secretary  of  War  a  statement  taken,  as  he  said,  from 
your  own  returns,  making  one  hundred  and  eight  thousand 
then  with  you  and  en  route  to  you.  You  say  you  will  have 
but  eighty-five  thousand  when  all  en  route  to  you  shall  have 
reached  you.  How  can  the  discrepancy  of  twenty-three 
thousand  be  accounted  for  ? 

"As  to  General  Wool's  command,  I  understand  it  is  doing 
for  you  precisely  what  a  like  number  of  your  own  would  have 
to  do  if  that  command  was  away. 

"  I  suppose  the  whole  force  which  has  gone  forward  for 
you  is  with  you  by  this  time.  And  if  so,  I  think  it  is  the 
precise  time  for  you  to  strike  a  blow.  By  delay,  the  enemy 
will  relatively  gain  upon  you — that  is,  he  will  gain  faster  by 
fortifications  and  reinforcement  than  you  can  by  reinforce- 
ments alone.  And  once  more  let  me  tell  you,  it  is  indispen- 
sable to  you  that  you  strike  a  blow.  I  am  powerless  to  help 
this.  You  will  do  me  the  justice  to  remember  I  always  in- 
sisted that  going  down  the  bay  in  search  of  a  field,  instead  of 
fighting  at  or  near  Manassas,  was  only  shifting,  and  not  sur- 
mounting a  difficulty  ;  that  we  would  find  the  same  enemy, 
and  the  same  or  equal  intrenchments,  at  either  place.  The 
country  will  not  fail  to  note,  is  now  noting,  that  the  present 
hesitation  to  move  upon  an  intrenched  enemy  is  but  the  story 
of  Manassas  repeated. 

"  I  beg  to  assure  you  that  I  have  never  written  you  or 
spoken  to  you  in  greater  kindness  of  feeling  than  now,  nor 
with  a  fuller  purpose  to  sustain  you,  so  far  as,  in  my  most 
anxious  judgment,  I  consistently  can.     But  you  must  act. 

"  Yours,  very  truly, 
"Maj.-Gen.  McClellan."  A.  Lincoln. 


30 


466  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM    LTXCOLJSr. 

Letter  to  Gen.  Sehofield.  Gen.  Cui-tis  and  Gov.  Bramble.  Proclamation. 

LETTER  TO  GEN.  SCHOFIELD  RELATIVE  TO  THE  REMOVAL  OP 

GEN.  CURTIS. 

"Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  May  27,  1863. 
"  Gen.  J.  M.  Schofield — Dear  Sir :  Having  removeu 
Gen.  Curtis  and  assigned  you  to  the  command  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Missouri,  I  think  it  may  be  of  some  advantage  to 
me  to  state  to  you  why  I  did  it.  I  did  not  remove  Gen. 
Curtis  because  of  my  full  conviction  that  he  had  done  wrong 
by  commission  or  omission.  I  did  it  because  of  a  conviction 
in  my  mind  that  the  Union  men  of  Missouri,  constituting, 
when  united,  a  vast  majority  of  the  people,  have  entered  into 
a  pestilent,  factious  quarrel  among  themselves.  Gen.  Curtis, 
perhaps  not  of  choice,  being  the  head  of  one  faction,  and 
Gov.  Gamble  that  of  the  other.  After  months  of  labor  to  re- 
concile the  difficulty,  it  seemed  to  grow  worse  and  worse, 
until  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  break  it  up  somehow,  and  as  I 
could  not  remove  Gov.  Gamble,  I  had  to  remove  Gen.  Curtis. 
Now  that  you  are  in  the  position,  I  wish  you  to  undo  nothing 
merely  because  Gen.  Curtis  or  Gov.  Gamble  did  it,  but  to 
exercise  your  own  judgment,  and  do  right  for  the  public  in- 
terest. Let  your  military  measui'es  be  strong  enough  to 
repel  the  invaders  and  keep  the  peace,  and  not  so  strong  as 
to  unnecessarily  harass  and  persecute  the  people.  It  is  a 
difficult  role,  and  so  much  more  will  be  the  honor  if  you  per- 
form it  well.  If  both  factions,  or  neither,  shall  abuse  you, 
you  will  probably  be  about  right.  Beware  of  being  assailed 
by  one  and  praised  by  the  other. 

"  Yours,  truly,  A.  Lincoln." 


THREE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND  MEN  CALLED  FOR. 

"Wheeeas,  The  term  of  service  of  part  of  the  volunteer 
forces  of  the  United  States  will  expire  during  the  coming 


APPENDIX.  461 


President's  Proclamation.  Three  Hundred  Thousand  Men. 

year;  and  whereas,  in  addition  to  the  men  raised  by  the 
present  draft,  it  is  deemed  expedient  to  call  out  three  hundred 
thousand  volunteers,  to  serve  for  three  years  or  the  war — not, 
however,  exceeding  three  years. 

"  Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
"United  States  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  and 
Navv  thereof,  and  of  the  militia  of  the  several  States  when 
called  into  actual  service,  do  issue  this  my  proclamation, 
calling  upon  the  Governors  of  the  different  States  to  raise  and 
have  enlisted  into  the  United  States  service,  for  the  various 
companies  and  regiments  in  the  field  from  their  respective 
States,  their  quotas  of  three  hundred  thousand  men. 

"  I  further  proclaim  that  all  the  volunteers  thus  called  out 
and  duly  enlisted  shall  receive  advance  pay,  premium  and 
bounty,  as  heretofore  communicated  to  the  Governors  of 
States  by  the  War  Department,  through  the  Provost-Marshal 
General's  office,  by  special  letters. 

"  I  further  proclaim  that  all  volunteers  received  under  this 
call,  as  well  as  all  others  not  heretofore  credited,  shall  be  duly 
credited  and  deducted  from  the  quotas  established  for  the 
next  draft. 

"  I  further  proclaim  that,  if  any  State  shall  fail  to  raise  the 
quota  assigned  to  it  by  the  War  Department  under  this  call  ; 
then  a  draft  for  the  deficiency  in  said  quota  shall  be  made  in 
said  State,  or  on  the  districts  of  said  State,  for  their  due  pro- 
portion of  said  quota,  and  the  said  draft  shall  commence  on 
the  fifth  day  of  January,  1864. 

"And  I  further  proclaim  that  nothing  in  this  proclamation 
shall  interfere  with  existing  orders,  or  with  those  which  may 
be  issued  for  the  present  draft  in  the  States  where  it  is  now 
in  progress  or  where  it  has  not  yet  been  commenced. 

"  The  qoutas  of  the  States  and  districts  will  be  assigned  by 
the  "War  Department,  through  the  Provost-Marshal  Geaeral's 
ofQce,  due  regard  being  had  for  the  men  heretofore  furnished, 
whether  by  volunteering  or  drafting,  and  the  recruiting  will 


468  LIFE   OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

President's  Proclamation.  Rev.  Dr.  M'Pheetere.  President's  Reply. 

be  conducted  in  accordance  with  such  instructions  as  have 
been  or  may  be  issued  by  that  department. 

"In  issuing  this  proclamation  I  address  myself  not  only  to 
the  Governors  of  the  several  States,  but  also  to  the  good  and 
loyal  people  thereof,  invoking  them  to  lend  their  cheerful, 
willing  and  effective  aid  to  the  measures  thus  adopted,  with  a 
view  to  reinforce  our  victorious  armies  now  in  the  field  and 
bring  our  needful  military  operations  to  a  prosperous  end, 
thus  closing  forever  the  fountains  of  sedition  and  civil  war. 

"  In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  seventeenth  day  of 
October,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  sixty-three,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States 
the  eighty-eighth. 

"  By  the  President :  "Abraham  Lincoln. 

"Wm.  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 


REV.  DR.  M'PHEETERS— THE   PRESIDENT'S    REPLY  TO   AN 
APPEAL  FOR  INTERFERENCE. 

"Executive  Nansion,  Washington,  December  23,  1863. 

"  I  have  just  looked  over  a  petition  signed  by  some  three 
dozen  citizens  of  St.  Louis,  and  their  accompanying  letters, 
one  by  yourself,  one  by  a  Mr.  Nathan  Ranney,  and  one  by  a 
Mr.  John  D.  Coalter,  the  whole  relating  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
McPheeters.  The  petition  prays,  in  the  name  of  justice  and 
mercy,  that  I  will  restore  Dr.  McPheeters  to  all  his  ecclesias- 
tical rights. 

"  This  gives  no  intimation  as  to  what  ecclesiastical  rights 
are  withdrawn.  Your  letter  states  that  Provost  Marshal 
Dick,  about  a  year  ago,  ordered  the  arrest  of  Dr.  McPheeters, 
pastor  of  the  Yine-street  Church,  prohibited  him  from  offici- 
ating, and  placed  the  management  of  affairs  of  the  church  out 


APPENDIX.  469 


Rev.  Dr.  M"Pheeters.  President's  Reply. 

of  the  control  of  the  chosen  trustees ;  and  near  the  close  you 
state  that  a  certain  course  'would  insure  his  release.'  Mr. 
Ranney's  letter  says  :  '  Dr.  Samuel  MePheeters  is  enjoying 
all  the  rights  of  a  civilian,  but  can  not  preach  the  gospel  1' 
Mr.  Coaltcr,  in  his  letter,  asks  :  '  Is  it  not  a  strange  illustra- 
tion of  the  condition  of  things,  that  the  question  who  shall  be 
allowed  to  preach  in  a  church  in  St.  Louis  shall  be  decided  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States  ?' 

"  Xow,  all  this  sounds  very  strangely  ;  and,  withal,  a  little 
as  if  you  gentlemen  making  the  application  do  not  understand 
the  case  alike — one  affirming  that  this  doctor  is  enjoying  all 
the  rights  of  a  civilian,  and  another  pointing  out  to  me  what 
will  secure  his  release !  On  the  second  of  January  last,  I 
wrote  to  Gen.  Curtis  in  relation  to  Mr.  Dick's  order  upon  Dr. 
MePheeters ;  and,  as  I  suppose  the  Doctor  is  enjoying  all  the 
rights  of  a  civilian,  I  only  quote  that  part  of  the  letter  which 
relates  to  the  church.  It  was  as  follows  :  '  But  I  must  add 
that  the  United  States  Government  must  not,  as  by  this  order, 
undertake  to  run  the  churches.  When  an  individual,  in  a 
church  or  out  of  it,  becomes  dangerous  to  the  public  interest, 
he  must  be  checked ;  but  the  chui'ches,  as  such,  must  take 
care  of  themselves.  It  will  not  do  for  the  United  States  to 
appoint  trustees,  supervisors,  or  other  agents  for  the  churches,' 

"This  letter  going  to  Gen.  Curtis,  then  in  command,  I 
supposed,  of  course,  it  was  obeyed,  especially  as  I  heard  no 
further  complaint  from  Dr.  Mc.  or  his  friends  for  nearly  an 
entire  year.  I  have  never  interfered,  nor  thought  of  interfer- 
ing, as  to  who  shall  or  shall  not  preach  in  any  church  ;  nor 
have  I  knowingly  or  believingly  tolerated  any  one  else  to 
interfere  by  my  authority.  If  any  one  is  so  interfering  by 
color  of  my  authority,  I  would  like  to  have  it  specifically 
made  known  to  me. 

"  If,  after  all,  what  is  now  sought  is  to  have  me  put  Dr 
Mc.  back  over  the  heads  of  a  majority  of  his  own  congrega- 


470  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Election  Oicleied  iu  Arkansas.  Gon.  Steele's  Instructions. 

tion,  that,  too,  will  be  declined.     I  will  not  have  control  of 
any  church  on  any  side.  A.  Lincoln." 


AN  ELECTION  ORDERED  IN  THE  STATE  OF  ARKANSAS. 

^'Executive  Mansion,  "Washington,  January  20,  1864. 
"  Maj.  Gen.  Steele  :  Sundry  citizens  of  the  State  of  Ar- 
kansas petition  me  that  an  election  may  be  held  in  that  State, 
at  which  to  elect  a  Governor ;  that  it  be  assumed  at  that 
election,  and  henceforward,  that  the  Constitution  and  laws  of 
the  State,  as  before  the  rebellion,  are  in  full  force,  except  that 
the  Constitution  is  so  modified  as  to  declare  that  there  shall 
be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  in  the 
punishment  of  crimes  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly 
convicted;  that  the  General  assembly  may  make  such  provi- 
sions for  the  freed  people  as  shall  recognize  and  declare  their 
permanent  freedom,  and  provide  for  their  education,  and  which 
may  yet  be  construed  as  a  temporary  arrangement,  suitable 
to  their  condition  as  a  laboring,  landless,  and  homeless  class  ; 
that  said  election  shall  be  held  on  the  28th  of  March,  1864,  at 
all  the  usual  places  of  the  State,  or  all  such  as  voters  may 
attend  for  that  purpose  ;  that  the  voters  attending  at  8  o'clock 
in  the  morning  of  said  day  may  choose  judges  and  clerks  of 
election  for  such  purpose  ;  that  all  persons  qualified  by  said 
Constitution  and  laws,  and  taking  the  oath  presented  in  the 
President's  proclamation  of  December  8,  1863,  either  before 
or  at  the  election,  and  none  others,  may  be  voters ;  that  each 
set  of  judges  and  clerks  may  make  returns  directly  to  you  on 

or  before  the  —  th  day  of next ;  that  in  all  other  respects 

said  election  may  be  conducted  according  to  said  Constitution 
and  laws ;  that  on  receipt  of  said  returns,  when  five  thousand 
four  hundred  and  six  votes  shall  have  been  cast,  you  can  re- 
ceive said  votes  and  ascertain  all  who  shall  thereby  appear  to 
have  been  elected ;  that  on  the  —  day  of next,  all  persons 


APPENDIX.  471 


Election  Ordered  in  Arkansas.  Letter  to  Wra.  Fishback.  Proclamation. 

SO  appearing  to  have  been  elected,  who  shall  appear  before 
you  at  Little  Rock,  and  take  the  oath,  to  be  by  you  severally 
administered,  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  said  modified  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Arkan- 
sas, may  be  declared  by  you  qualified  and  empowered  to 
immediately  enter  upon  the  duties  of  the  offices  to  which  they 
shall  have  been  respectively  elected. 

"  You  will  please  order  an  election  to  take  place  on  the 
28th  of  March,  1864,  and  returns  to  be  made  in  fifteen  days 
thereafter.  A.  Lincoln." 

Later,  the  President  wrote  the  following  letter : 

"  William  Fishback,  Esq.  :  When  I  fixed  a  plan  for  an 
election  in  Arkansas,  I  did  it  in  ignorance  that  your  Conven- 
tion was  at  the  same  work.  Since  I  learned  the  latter  fact,  I 
have  been  constantly  trying  to  yield  my  plan  to  theirs.  I 
have  sent  two  letters  to  Gen.  Steele,  and  three  or  four  dis- 
patches to  you  and  others,  saying  that  he  (Gren.  Steele)  must 
be  master,  but  that  it  will  probably  be  best  for  him  to  keep 
the  Convention  on  its  own  plan.  Some  single  mind  must  be 
master,  else  there  will  be  no  agreement  on  any  thing ;  and 
Gen.  Steele,  commanding  the  military,  and  being  on  the 
ground,  is  the  best  man  to  be  that  master.  Even  now  citizens 
are  telegraphing  me  to 'postpone  the  election  to  a  later  day 
than  either  fixed  by  the  Convention  or  me.  This  discord 
must  be  silenced.  A.  Lincoln.-' 


CALL   FOR    FIVE   HUNDRED   THOUSAND   MEN. 

"Whereas,  By  the  Act  approved  July  4, 1864,  entitled  'An 
Act  further  to  regulate  and  provide  for  the  enrolling  and  call- 
ing out  the  National  Forces,  and  for  other  purposes,'  it  is  pro- 
vided that  the  President  of  the  United  States  may,  at  hia 


472  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

President's  Procl.amation.  Five  Hundred  Thousand  Mou. 

discretion,  at  any  time  hereafter,  call  for  any  number  of  men 
as  volunteers,  for  the  respective  terms  of  one,  two,  or  three 
years,  for  military  service,  and  '  that  in  case  the  quota,  or  any 
part  thereof,  of  any  town,  township,  ward  of  a  city,  precinct, 
or  election  district,  or  of  a  county  not  so  subdivided,  shall  not 
be  filled  within  the  space  of  fifty  days  after  such  call,  then  the 
President  shall  immediately  order  a  draft  for  one  year  to  fill 
such  quota,  or  any  part  thereof,  which  may  be  unfilled.' 

"And  whereas.  The  new  enrollment  heretofore  ordered  is 
so  far  completed  as  that  the  aforementioned  Act  of  Congress 
may  now  be  put  in  operation  for  recruiting  and  keeping  up 
the  strength  of  the  armies  in  the  field,  for  garrisons,  and  such 
military  operations  as  may  be  required  for  the  purpose  of 
suppressing  the  rebellion  and  restoring  the  authority  of  the 
United  States  Government  in  the  insurgent  States  : 

"  Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States,  do  issue  this,  my  call,  for  five  hundred  thou- 
sand volunteers  for  the  military  service  ;  provided,  neverthe- 
less, that  all  credits  which  may  be  established  under  Section 
Eight  of  the  aforesaid  Act,  on  account  of  persons  who  have 
entered  the  naval  service  during  the  present  Rebellion,  and 
by  credits  for  men  furnished  to  the  military  service  in  excess 
of  calls  heretofore  made  for  volunteers,  will  be  accepted  under 
this  call  for  one,  two,  or  three  years,  as  they  may  elect,  and 
will  be  entitled  to  the  bounty  provided  by  the  law  for  the 
period  of  service  for  which  they  enlist. 

"And  I  hereby  proclaim,  order,  and  direct,  that  immedi- 
ately after  the  fifth  day  of  September,  1864,  being  fifty  days 
from  the  date  of  this  call,  a  draft  for  troops  to  serve  for  one 
year,  shall  be  held  in  every  town,  township,  ward  of  a  city, 
precinct,  election  district,  or  a  county  not  so  subdivided,  to 
fill  the  quota  which  shall  be  assigned  to  it  under  this  call,  or 
any  part  thereof  which  may  be  unfilled  by  volunteers  on  the 
paid  fiftn  day  of  September,  1864. 

"  In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 


APPENDIX.  473 

Letter  to  Mrs.  Guvney.  The  Friends  and  the  War. 

caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed.  Done  at 
the  city  of  "Washington,  this  eighteenth  day  of  July,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-four, 
and  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  the  eighty-ninth. 

"  By  the  President :  Abraham  Lincoln, 

"William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State." 


LETTER   TO   MRS.   GURNEY. 

This  letter  was  written  by  the  President  prior  to  his  re- 
election to  Mrs.  Eliza  P.  Gurney,  an  American  lady,  the 
widow  of  the  late  well-known  Friend  and  philanthropist, 
Joseph  John  Gurney,  one  of  the  wealthiest  bankers  of 
London. 

"  My  Esteemed  Friend  :  I  have  not  forgotten,  probably 
never  shall  forget,  the  very  impressive  occasion  when  your- 
self and  friends  visited  me  on  a  Sabbath  forenoon  two  years 
ago.  Nor  had  your  kind  letter,  written  nearly  a  year  later, 
ever  been  forgotten.  In  all  it  has  been  your  purpose  to 
strengthen  my  reliance  in  God.  I  am  much  indebted  to  the 
good  Christian  people  of  the  country  for  their  constant  prayers 
and  consolations,  and  to  no  one  of  them  more  than  to  your- 
self. The  purposes  of  the  Almighty  are  perfect  and  must 
prevail,  though  we  erring  mortals  may  fail  to  accurately  per- 
ceive them  in  advance.  We  hoped  for  a  happy  termination 
of  this  terrible  war,  long  before  this,  but  God  knows  best, 
and  has  ruled  otherwise.  We  shall  yet  acknowledge  His 
wisdom  and  our  own  errors  therein ;  meanwhile  we  must 
work  earnestly  in  the  best  lights  He  gives  us,  trusting  that 
so  working  still  conduces  to  the  great  ends  He  ordains. 
Surely,  He  intends  some  great  good  to  follow  this  mighty 
convulsion  which  no  mortal  could  make,  and  no  mortal 
could  stay. 


474  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN, 

Letter  to  Mrs.Cuirney.  Tennessee  Test  O.ith. 

"Your  people — the  Friends — have  had,  and  are  having 
very  great  trials,  on  principles  and  faith  opposed  to  both  war 
and  oppression.  They  can  only  practically  oppose  oppression 
by  war.  In  this  hard  dilemma,  some  have  chosen  one  horn 
and  some  the  other. 

For  those  appealing  to  me  on  conscientious  grounds  I  have 
done  and  shall  do  the  best  I  could,  and  can,  in  my  own  con- 
science under  my  oath  to  the  law.  That  you  believe  this,  I 
doubt  not,  and  believing  it,  I  shall  still  receive  for  our  country 
and  myself  your  earnest  prayers  to  our  father  in  Heaven. 

"  Your  sincere  friend, 

"A.  Lincoln." 


THE  TENNESSEE  TEST  OATH. 

*^  Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  D.  C, 

Saturday,  October  22,  1864, 

"MESSRS.  WM  B.  CAMPBELL,  THOMAS  A.  R.  NELSON,  JAMES  T.  P. 
CARTER,  JOHN  WILLIAMS,  A.  BLIZZARD,  HENRY  COOPER,  BAILIE 
PEYTON,  JOHN  LILLYETT,  EMERSON  ETHERIDGE,  AND  JOHN  D. 
PERRYMAN. 

"  Gentlemen  :  On  the  fifteenth  day  of  this  month,  as  I 
remember,  a  printed  paper  manuscript,  with  a  few  manuscript 
interlineations,  called  a  protest,  with  your  names  appended 
thereto,  and  accompanied  by  another  printed  paper,  purport- 
ing to  be  a  proclamation  by  Andrew  Johnson,  Military 
Governor  of  Tennessee,  and  also  a  manuscript  paper  purport- 
ing to  be  extracts  from  the  code  of  Tennessee,  were  laid 
before  me." 

[The  protest  is  here  recited,  and  also  the  proclamation  of 
Gov.  Johnson,  dated  September  30,  to  which  it  refers,  to- 
gether with  a  list  of  the  counties  in  East,  Middle,  and  West 
Tennessee  ;  also  extracts  from  the  code  of  Tennessee  in  rela- 


APPENDIX.  475 


President's  Letter.  Tennessee  Test  Oath. 

tion  to  electors  of  President  and  "Vice  President,  qualifications 
of  voters  for  members  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  places 
of  holding  elections  and  officers  of  popular  elections.] 

"At  the  time  these  papers  were  presented  as  before  stated, 
I  had  never  seen  either  of  them,  nor  heard  of  the  subject  to 
which  they  relate,  except  in  a  general  way,  only  one  day  pre- 
viously. 

"Up  to  the  present  moment,  nothing  whatever  upon  the 
subject  has  passed  between  Gov.  Johnson,  or  any  one  else 
connected  with  the  proclamation  and  myself 

"  Since  receiving  the  papers,  as  stated,  I  have  given  the 
subject  such  brief  consideration  as  I  have  been  able  to  do,  in 
the  midst  of  so  many  pressing  duties. 

"  My  conclusion  is,  that  I  can  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
matter,  either  to  sustain  the  plan  as  the  Convention  and  Gov. 
Johnson  have  initiated  it,  or  to  modify  it  as  you  demand. 
By  the  Constitution  and  laws  the  President  is  charged  with 
no  duty  in  the  Presidential  election  in  any  State.  Nor  do  I, 
in  this  case,  perceive  any  military  reason  for  his  interference 
in  the  matter. 

"  The  movement  set  a-foot  by  the  Convention  and  Gov. 
Johnson  does  not,  as  seems  to  be  assumed  by  you,  emanate 
from  the  National  Executive. 

"  In  no  proper  sense  can  it  be  considered  other  than  as  an 
independent  movement  of  at  least  a  portion  of  the  loyal  people 
of  Tennessee. 

"  I  do  not  perceive  in  the  plan  any  menace,  or  violence,  or 
coercion  toward  any  one. 

"  Gov.  Johnson,  like  any  other  loyal  citizen  of  Tennessee 
has  the  right  to  form  any  political  plan  he  chooses,  and  as 
Military  Governor  it  is  his  duty  to  keep  the  peace  among 
and  for  the  loyal  people  of  the  State. 

"  I  cannot  discern  that  by  his  plan  he  purposes  any  more — 
but  you  object  to  the  plan. 


476  LIFE   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

President's  Letter.  Tennessee  Test  Oath. 

"  Leaving  it  alone  will  be  your  perfect  security  against  it. 
It  is  not  proposed  to  force  you  into  it. 

"  Do  as  you  please  on  your  own  account  peaceably  and 
loyally,  and  Gov.  Johnson  will  not  molest  you,  but  will  pro- 
tect you  against  violence  so  far  as  in  his  power. 

"  I  presume  that  the  conducting  of  a  Presidential  election 
in  Tennessee,  in  strict  accordance  with  the  old  code  of  the 
State,  is  not  now  a  possibility. 

"  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add,  that  if  any  election  shall 
be  had,  and  any  votes  shall  be  cast  in  the  State  of  Tennessee 
for  President  and  Yice-President  of  the  United  States,  it  will 
belong  not  to  the  military  agents  nor  yet  to  the  Executive 
Department,  but  exclusively  to  another  department  of  the 
Government,  to  determine  whether  they  are  entitled  to  be 
counted  in  conformity  with  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the 
United  States. 

"  Except  it  be  to  give  protection  against  violence,  I  decline 
to  interfere  in  any  way  with  any  Presidential  election. 

'''Abraham  Lincoln." 


THE    END. 


LIST     OF     'SEW    BOOKS 

PUBLISHED   BY 

JOHN    E.    POTTER. 


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OXm  CAMPAIGNS;  or,  the  Marches,  Bivouacs,  Battles,  Incidents  of  Camp 
Life  and  History  of  our  Regiment  during  its  three  years  term  of  service; 
together  with  a  Sketch  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  under  Generals 
McClellan,  Burnside,  Hooker,  Meade  and  Grant.  By  E.  M.  Woodward, 
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OUR  BOYS.  The  Personal  Experiences  of  a  Soldier  in  the  Army  of  tho 
Potomac;  the  rich  and  racy  scenes  of  Army  and  Camp  Life;  the  lively, 
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March,  as  seen  and  participated  in  by  one  of  the  rank  and  file,  and  who  has 
himself  lost  a  leg  in  the  service  of  his  country.  By  A.  F.Hill,  of  tho  Eighth 
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THRILLING  STORIES  OF  THE  GREAT  REBELLION :  comprising  Hercic 
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Refugees;  Daring  Exploits  of  Smugglers,  Guerrillas,  Desperadoes,  and 
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2 

THE  LIFE  AND  ADVENTURES  OF  MISS  MAJOR  PAULINE  CUSHMAN, 
the  celebrated  Union  Spy  and  Scout :  comprising  her  Early  History,  her 
entry  into  the  Secret  Service  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  Dashing 
Adventures  with  the  Rebel  Chieftains  and  others  while  within  the  enemy's 
lines,  together  with  her  capture  and  sentence  to  death  by  General  Bragg, 
and  rescue  at  Shelbyville,  Tenn.,  by  the  Union  Army  under  General 
Rosecrans.  The  whole  carefully  prepared  from  her  notes  and  memoranda. 
By  F.  L.  Sarmiento,  Esq.,  of  the  Philadelphia  Bar.  With  a  portrait  on 
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THRILLING  ADVENTURES  AMONG  THE  EARLY  SETTLERS:  embrac 
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Exploits  of  Texan  Rangers  and  others,  and  Incidents  of  Guerrilla  Warfare  ; 
Fearful  Deeds  of  the  Gamblers  and  Desperadoes,  Rangers  and  Regulators 
of  the  West  and  Southwest ;  Hunting  Stories,  Trapping  Adventures,  etc.,  etc. 
By  Warren  Wildwood,  Esq.  Illustrated  by  200  engravings.  12mo.,  paper. 
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iiIFE  OF  KIT  CARSON,  the  great  Western  Hunter  and  Guide :  comprising 
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Mountains;  Thrilling  Adventures  and  Hair-breadth  Escapes  among  the 
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Scouting  and  other  Parties,  etc.,  etc.  With  an  account  of  various  Govern- 
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LIFE  OF  DANIEL  BOONE,  the  Great  Western  Hunter  and  Pioneer:  com- 
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LIFE  OF  DAVID  CROCKETT,  the  Original  Humorist  and  Irrepressible  Back- 
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